


Our Two Hearts In Ashland

by SpaceJammie



Series: Oddly Specific First Meetings Fic Collection [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Theatre, Come sit by the fire that is my burning love for UshiTen, First Meetings, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, I Will Go Down With This Ship, If the fluff in this story turned into blankets you'd never be cold again, M/M, Minor for side ships but they have their moments, Oddly Specific Fic For My Oddly Specific Interests, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Violence, Pining Tendou Satori, Protective Ushijima Wakatoshi, Slow Burn, There are many moments that will make you say awww, There are some heavy background themes, There is very slight angst but you'll be protected by thick layers of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 63,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27687037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceJammie/pseuds/SpaceJammie
Summary: Satori Tendou is an actor. He and his friends live in Ashland, and are part of the theatre department at Southern Oregon University; a school that's famous for it's original stage plays.Koushi Sugawara, the theatre director, is plotting something mischievous. He wants to find the perfect man to play Satori's boyfriend in their current theater production.Can Koushi convince Wakatoshi Ushijima, a waiter with no acting experience, to play the part?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Oddly Specific First Meetings Fic Collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982089
Comments: 202
Kudos: 249
Collections: maazeesfavs





	1. Fate Intervenes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is set in Ashland, Oregon, USA.  
> I used to go there with my mom in high school to see stage plays. (I love live theatre)
> 
> This is my first attempt at a slow burn, I hope you enjoy this story! :)

Satori Tendou, Koushi Sugawara, and Tooru Oikawa were squeezed in on one side of a booth in a quiet restaurant. Opposite of them sat Keiji Akaashi, Koutarou Bokuto, and Tetsurou Kuroo. 

The small establishment was the only place around town that offered authentic Japanese cuisine; it was owned by a friend of Satori's parents. He and his friends grew up in the small town of Ashland, located on the West coast of the United States. But they all visited Japan every summer to see their relatives who lived there. 

Issei Matsukawa and Takahiro Hanamaki were sitting at the end of the booth with chairs pulled up from other tables so that they could sit with their friends. They liked the booth with a good window view. Unfortunately, that table didn't easily fit their whole group. They were slightly blocking the walkway, but it wasn't an inconvenience since there were no other customers dining there currently. They had purposely come after the lunch rush ended. 

It was midday and the group had just arrived at the restaurant for a meeting on behalf of the theatre program they were in together. Their university was famous for it's high rated original stage plays. The theatre department also took classic plays and rewrote them to have lgbqt+ lead characters. That tradition existed long before the group of friends were a part of the school program. 

The men at the table were carrying on that legacy. Each of them had a role in the theatre department. There had been less students interested in joining the theatre program lately, so most of them had more than one responsibility.

This was their last year of college and their last stage production. The Love We Found was the title of the play: Tetsurou, who wrote and named it, was a hopeless romantic. The play reflected his ideals.

Satori was an actor and had played many star roles. Aside from that, he dealt with advertising the current productions on social media. He also helped with painting the finished sets, which was his favorite thing aside from acting. Despite having mild stage fright, he enjoyed being in plays. It helped that he had his friends by his side for all of them.

Koushi was the director. And a damn good one, if you were to ask his opinion on it. His friends may beg to differ on that matter; but they would all agree that he at least had a very commanding presence. He also served as casting director and producer, and it was a wonder that he also had passing grades despite his deep involvement in the theatre program. He happened to be an avid day drinker and self proclaimed oenophile: a wine lover with excess knowledge on the beverage. This was something his longtime boyfriend, Daichi Sawamura, didn't appreciate.

Takahiro was Koushi's assistant. He kept the club from losing track of the things they had to manage and did the things that Koushi didn't want to do. He also kept a steady supply of wine around, for himself as well as for Koushi and Tooru. His belief was that theatre was always better with a glass of wine. 

Tooru was an actor who often played lead roles. He was well known around campus and even had a dedicated fan club. He also worked as the choreographer and movement director; he had years of experience with dance, having taken multiple types of dance classes from the age of three onward. On top of that, he was the one taking the most classes out of all their friends: an overachiever to his core. This was a worrisome thing for his boyfriend, Hajime Iwaizumi, who was constantly asking him to tone down the number of commitments he took on. 

Keiji was the music composer, music director, and sound effect designer. He often recorded entire songs himself in the recording studio of the theatre department: he played many different instruments and was a music lover through and through. He often let his boyfriend, Koutarou, work in the recording studio while he composed new songs. 

Koutarou was the costume designer, which was a role he had fun with. He could do every aspect of the job: sketches for new style designs, measuring the actors, fabric purchases, and the actual sewing for the costumes. He had an entire room used as a dedicated wardrobe, which was attached to the main theatre room. He was also the resident hair stylist and makeup artist; skills he had learned thanks to having two older sisters who taught him everything they knew.

Issei was the set designer and only a part time student. His main job was construction. And one of his unofficial side jobs was basically to hang out with his boyfriend, Takahiro. He loved a good laugh as much as anyone, and often pulled pranks on his boyfriend and on Satori, both of whom he shared an apartment with. 

Daichi and Hajime, who both worked in construction as well, were also part time students. They each took only one class purely so that they could participate in the plays as set builders. The entirety of all stage productions were strictly student run: no exceptions could be made. Daichi and Hajime couldn't make it to this meeting as they were currently on a weekend job, so Issei was there to give set input on their behalf.

Tetsurou considered himself one of the most important parts of the whole theatrical department, since it was he who wrote the original plays or adapted old plays to be more modern: he called them modern adaptations but what he really meant was that they were lgbqt+ supportive. He had written original stage plays many over the past three years, and each one turned into a successful show. 

Not present at the meeting was Kenma Kozume, Tetsurou's boyfriend. He was a main sponsor for the theatre department; he didn't want any direct involvement, but he did want to support Tetsurou's passion for stage plays. And while he was still a college student, he was already successful in many business ventures. So he had plenty of money to throw towards funding his boyfriend and friends.

The group of men were glancing over their menus while they chattered among themselves. Koushi cleared his throat when a waiter passed by, successfully getting the black haired man's attention. 

The waiter, named Akira Kunimi, gave Koushi a warm smile as he took out his notepad. "Are you guys ready to order?"

Koushi grinned pleasantly. "I'm not sure about food yet, but I'd love a glass of Pinot Grigio for now."

"Oh, me too!" Tooru chimed in.

"One for me as well," Takahiro said cheerfully. 

Akira nodded with a confident grin and walked off to retrieve the drinks. He was their usual waiter and had likely expected the wine orders. 

Satori frowned at Koushi. "Daichi specifically told me to stop letting you drink in the middle of the day.

Takahiro chuckled. "Oh, leave him be."

Issei gave a grin and leaned over to loudly whisper at Takahiro, specifically to tease their silver haired friend. "Should we tell Daichi about it just for funsies?"

Unbothered by the joke, Koushi winked and gave a mischievous smile. "Tell him if you want. Daichi just doesn't want me getting drunk without him after I got lost at that concert. And besides, I won't get drunk. I'm only having one glass."

Satori hummed and put an arm over Koushi, who was right beside him. "Well then, I'll be the designated sober friend and make sure you don't get into _too much_ trouble."

Koutarou laughed loudly, which knocked his body into Tetsurou. The black haired man frowned at his owlish haired friend as he paused his typing; he had a laptop on the table in front of him. "Dude, watch it! I'm trying to write in an extra scene to see if it flows better."

Koutarou frowned apologetically. "Sorry! Man, being a writer must be rough. I'm glad that I only have to do the fun stuff."

Keiji hummed from beside Koutarou. "Like spending several hours banging on different surfaces to find the best footstep sound effects instead of working on your sketches?"

Koutarou leaned over to kiss Keiji's temple affectionately. "Well, yes, I sometimes get distracted and end up messing with your sound effect stuff. But you amaze me with how easily you make songs and sound effects that work perfectly for each play!"

Akaashi blushed at the praise. "I wouldn't call it easy, but it's certainly enjoyable."

Akira came back with the glasses of wine and took everyone's order. After he left, Issei and Takahiro went to hold hands above the table while making eyes at each other. Koutarou and Keiji were doing the same. 

Satori scoffed playfully as he looked at the happy couples. "You lot are such a mushy bunch. Absolutely soggy."

Tooru reached out to gently squeeze Satori's cheek between his fingers. "You're just jealous because you're the permanent third wheel in our group."

"Permanent eleventh wheel, more like," Takahiro stated as he sipped on his wine. 

Satori rolled his eyes. 

It was true that he was the only single one in their group. And it's not like he didn't want to date someone. He just hadn't met the right person yet. And since joining the theatre program with all his friends, he had spent most of his free time involved with stage play activities. There weren't a lot of people who wanted to be with someone who had such a deep fixation on a hobby that ate up so much time.

Takahiro cleared his throat. "We're supposed to be talking about the casting issue, remember? We don't have anyone who can handle the other lead role since the first years don't have the emotional depth."

Tooru pouted. "What issue do you mean? Because I'd be perfect to play the love interest. Satori and I have great stage chemistry!"

Tetsurou laughed at that. "The love interest is supposed to be mysterious and kind of scary. Very aloof. Not to mention buff and brawny. You're a beanpole. I'm sure you could act the part, but you don't fit the description."

Tooru looked slightly offended. He was touchy about being thin and having a hard time building muscle mass. "Then change the description to fit me, Mr. Script Writer man," he said, right before he finished his wine in a few large gulps. 

Koushi shook his head and gave a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Tooru, I just don't think this role is right for you."

Issei smiled teasingly. "Hey, should we see if that new kid, Tobio, wants to play it?" 

Everyone knew that Tooru had some jealousy issues ever since one of the first years, Tobio Kageyama, got a bigger mention than him in a news article about their last play. 

Tooru flared his nostrils angrily and squinted at Issei. "He's way too constipated looking to play a love interest. Plus, don't put poor Satori through that! Isn't there a kiss at the end? Yuck." Tooru then turned to Satori. "You don't want your mouth on him, do you? You'd much rather kiss me."

Takahiro pulled his phone out and started texting. "Totally gonna let Hajime know that you're trying to get other men to kiss you. He'll love that."

The image of an angry and jealous Hajime was enough to scare anyone. The man was extremely protective and had once punched a stranger for trying to get Tooru's phone number after a play. Mainly because Tooru had politely turned the stranger down several times, yet the stranger kept insisting and even followed Tooru into the bathroom. That's when Hajime beat up the stranger. 

Afterwards, when telling the rest of his friends about it, Tooru referred to that stranger as Blue Hair. Only because of the man's poorly dyed blue hair. He had not seen Blue Hair again since then, thankfully. 

Before Tooru could reach over and snatch Takahiro's phone, Koushi slapped his hands on the table. "Enough fighting, gentlemen. I decide casting, and I will find the right man to play the love interest. Satori can rest easy. I'll pick a cute guy."

"I'm cute," Tooru mumbled dejectedly.

Keiji hummed thoughtfully as he eyed Koushi suspiciously. "You _are_ cute, Tooru. But you're not single. I think Suga is scheming again."

Koutarou smiled widely; his body inflated with excitement as he leaned over the table towards Koushi. "Oh shit! Do you have anyone in mind yet!? I love your chaotic plans!"

A slight flush from the alcohol was brushed across Koushi's cheeks as he sipped at his wine gleefully. "I don't know yet. I'm waiting for the perfect guy to come along."

Just then, as though summoned by fate itself, a different waiter than before came over with a large tray. A waiter they had never seen before. The waiter set the tray on a table next to theirs and started handing out the plates of food.

Tetsurou examined the waiter with a crooked grin. "A good candidate might be closer than you thought, Suga," he said slyly as he closed his laptop and moved it off the table. 

Koushi hummed but didn't respond. He was also looking at the waiter while wearing a calculating expression. The name tag on the waiter's shirt read 'Wakatoshi.'

Satori was closest to the edge of the table and looked up to thank Wakatoshi for bringing the food, but his words caught in his throat as he took in the sight of the man. 

Wakatoshi was tall, muscular, and wore a serious expression. He was very handsome. Satori almost let out an embarrassing squeak from pure excitement, but he bit his tongue to hold his silence just in time. 

"Please let me know if you need anything else," Wakatoshi said in a sincere voice before he turned to leave.

All the friends had looked after Wakatoshi as the man walked away, then at Koushi's suddenly mischievous grin, and finally their gazes landed on Satori. The redhead was intently staring at Wakatoshi. Knowing smiles spread across their faces. Everyone (except Satori) came to a mutual unspoken agreement that Wakatoshi perfectly fit the physical description of the role and that Satori obviously had interest.

Satori was totally unaware of the silent communication among his friends during that moment. His face was now a shade that matched his dark red hair. And he was so caught up on Wakatoshi that he didn't even realize his friends were all staring at him with varying levels of satisfaction and amusement.

And then his friends all started to crack up at his zoned out expression.

The sudden sound of laughter finally brought Satori's attention back. "What's so funny?"

Koutarou's mouth opened to tease Satori, but Keiji quickly shoved a piece of sushi into it to keep him quiet; Wakatoshi might still be in earshot. Keiji was quick to both assess that fact and act to prevent Wakatoshi from getting scared off by what would have undoubtedly been a vulgar comment.

Tetsurou had a Cheshire grin as he started to eat his food. He couldn't have written a better description to fit Wakatoshi; not even if he had actually based it on a photo of the man himself. 

Issei and Takahiro looked at each other in amusement for a long moment, as if they were telling jokes and making insinuations without needing words. Which was not uncommon for them; the two men had an uncanny ability to communicate silently.

Tooru and Koushi were both looking at Satori curiously. It ended up being Tooru who spoke first, and his voice was resigned.

"Well.... I guess I can't compete with _that._ But how do we know if he can even act? Also, he would have to be a student at the university to participate in the play."

Satori frowned; he was feeling rather lost on the direction the conversation was taking. "Who are you talking about?"

Koushi grinned happily while ignoring Satori so that he could answer Tooru. "I think I've seen him around campus before! As for acting ability, we won't know until we see it."

Tooru huffed and stabbed at his lunch. "So you'll just hand the part to a stranger? And for the last show of our college careers? You wound me deeply."

Tetsurou cackled from across the table. "You've had a star role in almost every play the last few years, Tooru. Let's just let Satori have this one nice thing."

"What nice thing will I be having?" Satori asked impatiently. He was still very confused; he realized that he had missed out on something while he was distracted by staring at Wakatoshi, and he was feeling more and more irritated that he was being ignored. 

Koushi finally responded as he patted Satori's cheek gently. "We're going to get that cute waiter to be your love interest in the play, and you two will totally hit it off. Trust me on this."

With a suspicious squint of his eyes, Satori clicked his tongue. "I'm feeling uneasy about this. Your romance schemes never turn out well for me."

That was a true statement. Koushi had tried and failed to set Satori up for a date on many occasions. It never worked out, and it had been almost a year since the last attempt. 

Koushi winked and spoke confidently as he ran a finger around the top of his wine glass. "When we finish eating, all of you need to leave. Except Tooru and Satori. You two can stay and help me with negotiations."

Satori was blushing and biting at his lip. "Are you seriously going to try to get that waiter to play the love interest? That would mean I'd have to… kiss him in the last scene."

With a playful smirk, Takahiro spoke up suddenly. "Well, don't you want that? You think he's cute, and it's way obvious. Your face looks like a cherry right now."

Satori put his hands over his face, trying to hide his red cheeks. He had always been an easy blusher no matter what emotion was overflowing: embarrassment, nervousness, happiness, fear, etc. His friends had called him Cherry when they were kids and they still occasionally took advantage of opportunities to bring the old nickname up.

Koushi smiled reassuringly. "I'm just going to offer the idea of trying out for the part very casual like. Maybe he won't be interested. But he certainly fits the part well, looks wise. Tall, muscular, handsome, brooding. He's got everything required."

"I can just do it if he can't handle the large amount of lines," Tooru said smugly. 

Koushi waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. You can be the understudy."

Satori chewed at his bottom lip as he worried about whether Wakatoshi would be interested in being in the play.

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Successful Negotiations

Wakatoshi walked back into the restaurant's small kitchen. He had just finished delivering food to the table where Satori and his friends were seated. Something about the experience was pricking the back of Wakatoshi's mind, and for a few reasons: the group of men looked familiar, the redhead was very cute, and he felt sure he had done something to make the group of men unhappy.

Wakatoshi looked at his coworker, Akira Kunimi, who was standing idly. "Why did you ask me to take over that table for you? I think I made them uncomfortable. One of them was very red in the face and they were all giving me strange looks."

Akira was a dramatic young man who loved gossip as much as he loved to give unsolicited relationship advice. And he had taken it upon himself to watch over Wakatoshi since the man had started working at the small restaurant just a couple weeks previous. 

"They're regulars and this is your first shift while they're here, so I thought you should have a chance to wait on them. And I don't think they were upset with you. I was watching from here. The red haired boy thinks you're cute, and I bet his friends could tell and are teasing him about it now."

Yuutarou Kindaichi, one of the cooks at the small restaurant, was beside Akira and gave an affirmative nod. "That's what it looked like to me, too."

Wakatoshi hummed thoughtfully. He was admittedly unskilled at reading people, so he took their word for it. Facial expressions were difficult for him to read in people he didn't know well; tone of voice could also be a struggle. And he frequently had a hard time using the expressions and tones that were expected of him during conversation, though that was more likely with people he wasn't completely comfortable around. When nervous, he could sound uninterested despite feeling the opposite. 

It had gotten him into countless misunderstandings while trying to get to know people.

Back in kindergarten he had been told that he was about as friendly as a cactus. It was a phrase that he didn't understand at the tender age of five; he was neither green, nor thorny, nor suited for living long periods of time without water. His young self didn't know why people would assign friendliness qualities to plants in the first place. Who was to say a cactus would be less friendly than a rose, if it were something that could be measured? A rose would probably be stuck up if it had a personality, his young self had decided. 

Wakatoshi thought of the group of loud men at the table, specifically remembering the one that was brushed with a deep blush across his face. And such an attractive face it was; he had those warm eyes and a pleasant mouth. There was something about Satori that drew Wakatoshi in like a moth to flame. 

If the redhead really did think he was cute, that made him kind of excited; the feeling would be mutual. It had been a long time since Wakatoshi had felt romantically attracted to someone. He had been too wary to even consider it after having had a very bitter experience with his last relationship.

When it came down to it, Wakatoshi didn't think it was appropriate to hit on a customer. He felt quite sure it had been mentioned in the sexual harassment awareness video that his manager, Morisuke Yaku, had shown him during his training. So he didn't think he should do anything about the possibility of mutual attraction. 

Maybe he would get lucky and run into the man somewhere else; that seemed like all he could really hope for, all things considered.

Just then, the poster boy himself for harassment rounded the corner, almost running into him: Lev Haiba, the other manager of the restaurant, who was as tall and lanky as he was friendly. Wakatoshi found the man to be loud and unpleasant, as well as way too touchy-feely. He had only worked several shifts so far, but Lev had tried to high five him or ruffle his hair at least ten times. 

Lev was the _'I'm not just your boss, I'm your friend'_ type and Wakatoshi found it to be very unprofessional.

Morisuke seemed to find Lev annoying as well, even though the pair was dating. Their relationship confused Wakatoshi. If Morisuke wasn't yelling at Lev, then Lev seemed to be trying to annoy Morisuke. It was a never ending cycle. 

"And how is my favorite new waiter doing today?" Lev asked excitedly as he walked up to Wakatoshi and stood closer than was necessary. 

Wakatoshi glanced at the man with a frown as he slid back a step. "Fine."

"It's pretty slow today and the lunch rush is over. You can probably go ahead and leave when you're done waiting on that table out there," Lev said while moving to lean an arm on Wakatoshi's shoulder. 

Wakatoshi stepped back enough so that Lev ended up leaning forward into the air instead. "Don't touch me, please."

Lev stumbled, but caught himself. Then he laughed merrily. "Sorry, forgot you don't like being touched! Which I definitely respect, as your friend and as per the requirements of my job. Please don't complain to Mori. He's already mad at me today."

The tall half russian man was in luck because Wakatoshi had no intention of complaining. Lev was very annoying, but harmless. Wakatoshi felt he could tolerate the man for the sake of civility. 

But it seemed Lev's luck was short lived. Morisuke was always watching the security cameras from the office and had seen Lev burst many personal space bubbles because of that. He had apparently been watching just then as well. In the next moment, Morisuke stormed out of the office and glared at Lev. 

"We have repeatedly talked about you being less familiar with the employees, Lev! And yet I see you trying to lean on our newest employee?"

Lev frowned and crossed his arms. "I already apologized!"

Morisuke's face scrunched up in irritation. "Apologies do not excuse you from making actual changes! We do not get so close to our coworkers! Especially when said coworker is clearly uncomfortable with it! Go high five Noya if you need some human contact!"

"What if I want human contact from you?" Lev said as he wiggled his eyebrows at Morisuke, which only served to further anger the short man. 

"Will a swift kick in the ass be enough human contact for you?" Morisuke said snappily.

Lev giggled and ran towards the back of the kitchen, where the employee door was, then burst through it. Morisuke raced after him. 

Wakatoshi watched them go with a frown. He didn't understand why two people who didn't seem to like each other at all would stay in a relationship. Not that he had much experience in that matter; he felt he was probably unqualified to try and make sense of why a couple was a couple. He had only one ex. It was a man who was once his childhood friend, who he'd since come to justifiably hate and now tried very hard never to think about. 

A short while later, Wakatoshi headed back out towards the crowded table to bring the check and clear some of the dishes. He used the opportunity to take a closer look at the redheaded man who was supposedly attracted to him. And he overheard someone at the table call the redhead 'Satori.'

Satori's hair was deeply red and very wild. His eyes were golden brown, but had a red hue when the light hit them. It made Wakatoshi think of a flame that danced as it burned; a very specific and coincidentally comforting imagery that greatly appealed to him, as he had always loved watching fire flickering on top of a candle or within a fireplace.

As Wakatoshi stacked the dishes and lifted them from the table, Satori's fiery eyes met his own dark brown ones and they stared at each other for a long moment. There was something about Satori's gaze that felt trustworthy, warm, and inviting. Those eyes were like pools of honey; he somehow felt certain that they wouldn't ever look at him with disgust or judgement.

Everyone at the table suddenly grew quiet and seemed to be watching Wakatoshi like they were waiting for something to happen. 

Wakatoshi could feel the stares on him, but his eyes were still locked with Satori's. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing was coming to mind. Then his hands started to cramp up from holding the heavy plates he had cleared off the table. 

Since he didn't know what to say, he somewhat reluctantly broke eye contact and turned to walk towards the kitchen. All the conversation prompts that he kept in his mind for interacting with customers had seemed to escape him when looking at Satori in that moment.

He glanced back and noticed most of the group getting up. All of the men, except for three of them, left the restaurant. The rest stayed seated.

Wakatoshi felt a pang of uncertainty as he dropped the dishes off at the dish station. He then watched as the dishes were rinsed and scrubbed quickly by the two men who had been nicknamed the Dynamic Dishes Duo by Lev. They were named Shouyou Hinata and Yuu Nishinoya. And there was something amazing about the way the two men were able to throw plates to each other without looking as they called out each toss, then caught the flying plates with surprising precision.

The intensity on their faces as they washed dishes reminded Wakatoshi of people playing sports; it was as if the men were competing against each other, as well as themselves, to clean dishes with greater and greater speed and accuracy. Wakatoshi was not close to the two of them at all yet; he would hardly call them acquaintances. And he didn't want them to make conversation with him, so he walked back over to peek out of the kitchen.

He looked at the table where the men sat and wondered to himself about if it would really be inappropriate to get Satori's phone number. 

Wakatoshi glanced at Akira and Yuutarou because he wanted to ask their advice, but the two men were now making out in the office with the door open. So he sighed somewhat irritably; he had seen those two making out a couple different times and it was not an image he enjoyed having in his mind. He didn't generally like public displays of affection. It made him feel like he was intruding on something very intimate, and it also left him with a sense of yearning. He had not had someone who he could honestly say treated him in a loving way, as far as dating went. And specifically in reference to his ex. 

He wished his brain were an etch-a-sketch so he could just give it a shake to erase the memories he didn't want to have anymore. 

Since the two men who always seemed eager to give him advice (whether he wanted it or not) were otherwise occupied, he came to a conclusion on his own; he really couldn't afford to lose this job, so it would be safer not to risk it. He leaned against the entryway wall that led to the kitchen and stared at the table where the three men were still seated, wondering if he had a valid excuse to go back over one more time. 

But it turned out that he wouldn't need to come up with an excuse; the silver haired man waved him over to the table. He felt relieved for the opportunity as he walked back over to the small group.

"You go to our school, you know. I've seen you around. We're in the theatre program," the silver haired man said with a wide grin. 

Satori was at the silver haired man's side, once again turning as red as a cherry, while the brown haired man was giving Wakatoshi a peculiar look. 

Now that Wakatoshi thought about it, he had seen advertisements that were spread around the school whenever there was a new play. That must be why they looked so familiar to him. He suddenly remembered having seen a poster with Satori on it earlier that year. He had stopped to look at it, stunned by the beauty of the redheaded man, and had almost bought tickets for the stage play. But he had just broken up with his ex at that time and didn't feel adventurous enough to go see a play by himself. 

"I have seen you around campus before as well," Wakatoshi said plainly. 

The silver haired man then cleared his throat before speaking. "I wanted to introduce you to my friend here, Satori Tendou," he said as he wrapped an arm over Satori's shoulder. "He's playing the lead role in our current stage play. I'm Koushi Sugawara, the director. But please call me Suga." 

Koushi then nodded at the brown haired man. "And this is Tooru Oikawa."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wakatoshi Ushijima," he replied as politely as he could. 

Tooru spoke up with a critical expression that matched his tone of voice. "Have you ever been in a stage play?"

Wakatoshi suddenly wondered if they wanted to sell him tickets or something. He didn't know anything about theatre and he didn't really want to buy tickets at the moment, so he didn't think he would have much to contribute to a conversation with the three men about that topic. 

He started to feel awkward and wanted to find a way to exit the conversation. "I've never been in a play. Was there anything else you needed?"

Koushi smiled brightly. "Actually, we did want to order a couple lunches to go. Just teriyaki chicken and rice for both meals, please."

Wakatoshi nodded. "I'll go put that order in for you."

He could hear the men whispering as he walked away, though he couldn't make any of their words out. Then he frowned to himself; Satori probably wasn't actually interested in him at all, just in selling tickets or something. Akira and Yuutarou must have been mistaken. 

Or at least, that's what Wakatoshi assumed. 

When he entered the kitchen, he relayed the order to Asahi Azumane, who was a cook for the restaurant as well as a manager in training. Since Yuutarou was still otherwise occupied, hidden away with Akira, Asahi would be cooking the orders by himself. Luckily, there were no other orders at the moment. So Asahi would be fine on his own. 

While he started preparing the food, Asahi gave Wakatoshi a concerned look. "You seem kind of worried. Got something on your mind?"

Wakatoshi stared at Asahi silently and thought about whether or not he was worried. But he didn't think he was. Saying that he was slightly disappointed with remnants of awkwardness might be a more accurate description. Either way, he didn't mean to make his coworker think he was worried. Asahi was a kind, reserved and sympathetic man. Wakatoshi would be most likely to label Asahi as a friend out of everyone he worked with.

Right before Wakatoshi could give assurance that he was fine, Yuu bounced over and smacked Asahi's butt, making the bearded man drop the bag of rice that he had been holding. Yuu, who was much shorter than his tall boyfriend, flashed a grin.

"Hey babe, can you make something for me and Shouyou? We're starving!"

Asahi leaned over to pick the bag of rice up and then glanced at Yuu. "I'll make extra of what I'm cooking right now. Hey, does Wakatoshi seem worried to you?"

Yuu turned to examine Wakatoshi with an intense gaze, resting his hands on his hips as he did so. 

It was that exact type of gaze that made Wakatoshi feel exposed and uncomfortable. There was a heaviness and certainty to it that he naturally bristled against on pure instinct. It was as though he was being issued a challenge or invaded upon. Shouyou sometimes wore a very similar expression that made Wakatoshi feel the same way. 

He couldn't help but to react with a scowl when given such a look. Unfortunately, that meant he was usually making a sour face when Shouyou or Yuu looked at him. 

Yuu gave a hum and shrugged his shoulders before he spoke. "He seems the same as always." 

Asahi glanced between Wakatoshi and Yuu before he went back to cooking. "I feel like you have something bothering you, Wakatoshi. But you don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to, just know I'm here if you need to talk."

It wasn't necessarily that Wakatoshi didn't want to talk about it. He just wasn't quite sure what there was to say about it. He considered it deeply and ended up lost in thought; before he knew it, Asahi had the two lunches packed and ready. 

He brought the bag containing the two meals with him as he walked back out to the table.

Koushi and Tooru looked at him with matching smiles. Enthusiastic ones, it seemed like. Wakatoshi wondered if the pair just really liked teriyaki chicken. It would not be surprising, he thought, since the restaurant was known for having perfectly cooked chicken.

"Here are the lunches. Thank you for your business." 

Wakatoshi's eyes drifted to look at Satori, who was biting at his lip and turning away. Was this what attraction looked like? It seemed more like nervousness or discomfort to Wakatoshi. He decided he would have to ask Akira about how to tell the difference. Although some part of him felt that Asahi might be a more reliable person to ask about such things.

Tooru looked at Wakatoshi critically and crossed his arms. "How good are you at lying?"

Wakatoshi frowned slightly. He didn't know why they would be asking that, and he wasn't one to lie since it made him feel too guilty. If anything, he was honest to a fault; that's what he had often been told. 

He cleared his throat before speaking. "You're asking if I am good at lying?"

Tooru nodded impatiently. "Yes, acting is similar to lying. Can you pretend to feel something and say something that you don't actually mean? And pretend to be someone else, even go so far as to temporarily _believe_ that you are someone else?"

Wakatoshi had a hard enough time saying and feeling what he actually did mean since he had always struggled with that. And furthermore, he didn't know how to be anyone else but himself; he had never tried. So he shook his head. "I'm not gifted with acting abilities."

Tooru sighed and then looked at Koushi. "Still think he can do it?"

Koushi looked thoughtful as he replied. "We can make it work." He then looked at Wakatoshi with a bright smile. "Would you like to try out for a part in our stage play? As I mentioned before, Satori here is playing the lead. We need _someone_ to play his love interest."

Satori was looking at Wakatoshi with a curious and hopeful expression. He was still very red, though.

Wakatoshi wasn't convinced that the redness was from attraction and not from some other issue, like a food allergy. Those were very common and sometimes unknown for long periods of time; the thought made him slightly concerned for Satori's health. 

Then he considered what it would be like to accept the role. He did want to see Satori again, and to have an excuse to see him regularly. Plus, being in a stage play might be fun. But he wasn't sure he had time for participating; there were probably lots of scheduled practices to attend and he couldn't afford to work less shifts.

His tone was even, though intended to be regretful, as he spoke. "I don't have time, but I appreciate the offer."

Wakatoshi felt positive that Satori seemed disappointed. He then felt a pang of guilt for making the man upset. 

Koushi gave a dashing smile as he muddied the truth a little. "Just come by and check it out sometime this week, okay? The role doesn't have _any_ lines, so if you _were_ to do the part you'd not have to memorize anything."

Satori and Oikawa both gave Koushi a look of disbelief, which Koushi ignored in favor of continuing to smile encouragingly.

Wakatoshi considered whether or not he should look into the stage play further. Satori might be happy if he did, and that could make it worth exploring. Also, he didn't have to commit to doing it; he could just leave if he didn't feel good about being there.

So he replied carefully. "Perhaps I can stop by to check it out. What day and time should I come?"

Satori smiled shyly at that point, and it made Wakatoshi feel like he had said the right thing. Wakatoshi's gaze was drawn down to Satori's lips momentarily; he had a pleasant smile. 

Koushi looked triumphant as he nudged Satori out of the booth and went to stand up. "Monday through Friday from 6pm to 9pm, or later. And then it varies for weekends. But almost every Saturday is an all day thing. It's always in the main theatre, that's where we meet."

With a nod, Wakatoshi moved his eyes away from Satori's smile. "Tomorrow is Monday and I don't have a shift scheduled, so I can come by at six."

Tooru moved to stand as well while giving Wakatoshi a dramatic squint. Wakatoshi met his gaze with an even expression. He was not sure what the look was about. Eventually, Tooru flipped his hair and moved to walk away. 

Koushi thanked Wakatoshi and turned to leave, but not before he dropped money for the take out meals on the table with a wink. 

Wakatoshi watched them go, then went to grab the money off the table. But it was five times too much. He turned to look back at the three men so he could stop them and give some of the money back, but Koushi caught his glance while calling out. 

"Keep the change!"

Akira had not mentioned that the regulars were such generous tippers. Wakatoshi nodded gratefully before he went back into the kitchen. Meanwhile, his mind was trying to process the unexpected commitment that he had just made.

Yuutarou was just coming out of the office while adjusting his shirt. And then Akira came out behind him while zipping up his pants. All the while, Wakatoshi looked at the two men with a slightly disapproving expression. He figured they must not be aware that Morisuke had just installed a security camera in that room the previous day.

Akira smiled at Wakatoshi as he walked over. "Did you get that redhead's number?"

"No, but I think I'll see him tomorrow," Wakatoshi said calmly with a rather blank expression. Though, on the inside, he was feeling very excited about having a chance to see the man again. If they were in a play together, they could become friends. And after that, perhaps something more. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I worked in a restaurant, everyone there slept with each other. It was like a weird alternate reality high school. And the drama was constant. So that heavily influenced how I wrote these employees. I actually had a manager like Lev, except the guy was not just friendly. He was super creepy.


	3. Chaotic Friends Are The Spice Of Life

Satori, Tooru, and Koushi were going to bring the take out food over to Daichi and Hajime at a job site, which happened to be in walking distance of the restaurant. 

It seemed like it was an act of fate that they had met Wakatoshi. And it was a well known fact that Koushi loved hatching plans that tempted fate; Satori's fate, specifically. 

Over the last few years, Koushi had set Satori up with at least a dozen different men and women. But the pairings were rarely successful past the first date. And most of that had come down to bad luck or unfortunate timing.

Satori once poured a hot drink on his date's lap on accident because he was nervous and had sweaty hands. 

Another time, a date had just got out of a relationship and wouldn't stop discussing an ex that she obviously still had feelings for, and the evening ended awkwardly.

Once, Satori got the time wrong and showed up a little late, then found out his date had already left. 

And most recently, Satori ended up in the hospital the night before a date and had to cancel. 

But that was less recent than he would like to admit to himself. It had been almost a year since he had been hospitalized for a serious injury. It had left him so shaken up that he asked Koushi to stop setting him up on dates for the foreseeable future. 

Even though it had been a while, Satori was used to Koushi's antics. So as much as he found Wakatoshi attractive, he also worried that Koushi's history of getting him into unlucky situations would carry over to this new possibility of romance. Especially since Koushi had lied to Wakatoshi about the love interest having no lines. 

Satori glanced at Koushi once they were outside the restaurant. "What the hell! Why did you tell him there are no lines? The love interest is one of the lead parts, there are a ton of lines!"

Koushi hummed questioningly as if he had forgotten that fact that he had led Wakatoshi to believe there were no lines. Though that was not believable considering how he had already come up with a ridiculous plan to address that very problem. He gave a lazy smile as he replied, waving one hand around as if to brush away anyone's doubts.

"I'll have Tetsurou take out the love interest's lines. He can do a full rewrite to accommodate it, if necessary. I got the feeling that Wakatoshi didn't want to do it, so I had to think on my feet and make it more appealing."

Satori sighed deeply. "And how are you going to tell our eccentric playwright that you're basically trashing his script and asking him to rewrite it three months before the opening show?"

Tooru chimed in with an irritated voice. "Wasn't there a plan to do a full read through this weekend? Tetsurou's going to flip out on you."

The laugh that escaped Koushi was as evil as it was amused. He was apparently riding high on the adrenaline from finding the perfect man to set Satori up with. Not to mention that the wine at the restaurant had not actually been his first glass of the day; rather, it was his third. Takahiro had shared a travel mug of wine with him just before they went to lunch. 

When Koushi finally calmed his laughter, he glanced at Tooru. "Oh, my dear friend. I have no intention of telling Tetsurou, _myself._ Why do you think I have Makki as an assistant?"

Satori shook his head and frowned. Such behavior was very typical of Koushi, the friend that he knew so well and loved so much. "Makki's going to have a fit."

Koushi smirked at that. It was obvious to everyone that he got a certain amount of pleasure from making Takahiro do the unpleasant parts of his job. It was one of the bigger perks of being the producer _and_ director: unchecked power. 

Meanwhile, Tooru was pouting. "This wouldn't be a problem if I was playing the part."

Koushi winked in response as he pulled out his phone to call Takahiro on speaker.

_"What's up, Suga?"_

"Hi, Makki! I need a little favor... Please tell Tetsurou to rewrite the script so that the love interest has no lines."

Takahiro's angry yelling radiated through the phone speaker. Koushi moved the phone away from himself just slightly, but his face remained cheerful.

_"Are you fucking kidding me? Is that what you told the waiter guy when you talked to him? Did you promise him that? You know how ridiculous that is, right? You realize how pissed off Tetsurou is going to be, right?!"_

The yelling went on for a while. So the three friends listened to the rant until Takahiro was done.

Koushi tried to speak authoritatively, though there was obviously a lot of laughter being held back. "If he could do it by tomorrow night, that would be lovely!" He then covered his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound of his giggling. 

More yelling came through the phone, and much of it was incoherent. Takahiro was an emotionally charged drunk, and apparently the thermos of wine from before lunch paired with the glass of wine during the meal had hit him hard.

Koushi scrunched up his nose playfully. "Please and thank you! Talk later, bye!" Then he hung up the phone and smirked at his two friends. "See, no big deal. This will all work out!"

Satori gave Koushi a dubious look, and Tooru seemed to share the sentiment. 

While Koushi had tried to set Satori up with people many times before, it had never been this elaborate. Especially not when the reputation of the theatre department was on the line. Though, everyone had to admit that Wakatoshi was the first guy that had fallen prey to Koushi's matchmaking attempts while also getting such obvious interest from Satori beforehand. 

Satori still found himself worried, but he deeply hoped that it would work out.

They soon reached the construction site where Daichi and Hajime were working. The two of them were up on a roof laying down shingles and hammering them in. They were tanned from their work in the sun, and well muscled from their job as well as regular gym visits. They were an appealing sight.

Tooru and Koushi both let out a loud whistle to catcall at the men. 

Daichi turned towards to sound and caught a glimpse of the three incoming men as he was wiping sweat off his brow. So he nudged Hajime, who had been wearing headphones, and the two of them climbed down from the roof. 

Daichi leaned over to kiss Koushi as soon as he reached him. "Hey, babe. Thanks for going out of your way to bring lunch."

"No problem at all! I got you teriyaki chicken and rice. I also have some _juicy_ gossip for dessert," Koishi said with a sweet smile. Then he set the bag of food down on the sidewalk and jumped at Daichi.

Daichi caught Koushi easily and chuckled, though he seemed somewhat concerned. "Have you been drinking, Suga?"

Koushi just giggled in response and snuggled closer to Daichi.

Daichi sighed before he leaned in to press his lips to Koushi's mouth, lingering in the kiss.

In that same moment, Tooru had wrapped his arms around Hajime's shoulders and was kissing the man deeply. They were locked together in a passionate embrace. 

Satori rolled his eyes as he looked away. His friends were always all over each other; it was like being around people who were newly dating. However, both couples had been together for many years. Satori made a sarcastic mental note to ask his friends how to keep the romantic fire alive after so much time together.

After a minute of having to awkwardly be present while his friends made out, Satori cleared his throat. "This is _really_ fun. Let's do this more often," he said sarcastically.

Tooru pulled away from Hajime's lips as he laughed. "Sorry, Satori. You have it rough being the single friend."

"Maybe not for much longer though, if my plans work out," Koushi said happily while pulling back from kissing Daichi.

Daichi squinted at Koushi once his lips were free. "Seriously, Suga. You taste like wine."

"So does this brat," Hajime said with a frown while looking at Tooru with concern masked as irritation. "Quit the day drinking already."

Tooru stuck out his tongue. "It's a Sunday, so I'll drink if I want to."

Koushi moved to wrap his arms around Satori. "Speaking of our cherry boy, he has a very attractive man that may be playing his love interest in our last, and hopefully most romantically successful, stage play."

Satori blushed deeply and scratched the back of his neck. "If he even wants to take the part. We don't know yet."

Daichi and Hajime sat down on the sidewalk to start eating their lunch, but they looked like they were also waiting for an explanation. They knew how much Koushi loved to scheme and plot as a self proclaimed guru of love; they also knew it had been a long time since one of those plans had happened, and that they never seemed to work.

Tooru cleared his throat and crossed his arms grumpily. "Suga didn't want to give me the love interest role because he's cooking up a plan to catch a man for Satori."

Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Again, huh? Those plans always seem a little… unpredictable."

Koushi tossed his hair and then winked. "This is the first time I've put our theatrical quality on the line, that's how confident I am in my plan."

Satori sighed. He knew Koushi was trying to help him, but it was as nerve wracking as it was thoughtful. "I didn't ask you to do this for me, Suga. You're kind of putting me in a weird spot. What if it's really awkward?"

"Well I'm going all out, so be a bit more grateful," Suga said casually, though there was a certain depth of emotion in his voice. "You could use a strong man like Wakatoshi around. He seems like the type who can protect the people he loves."

Satori gave Koushi a frown; he was alluding to a sore memory for the both of them. One that Satori avoided talking about whenever possible. 

Tooru went to sit close to Hajime, then heaved a long sigh as he glanced at Koushi. "I'll be ready to take over the role as soon as you need me to. Not saying this plan will fail, or anything. But let me be the safety net."

Koushi reached over to ruffle Tooru's hair affectionately. "I'm okay with you swooping in to save the day, if needed. But I have a _really_ good feeling about this!"

  
  


\----bonus scene----

  
  


Issei was driving himself and Takahiro home. They had just dropped off Tetsurou, Koutarou, and Keiji at the apartment the three men shared with Kenma. It was right after that when Takahiro got the phone call from Koushi and had his mood flipped upside down. 

After the phone call, Takahiro was seething with frustration. "I cannot believe Suga wants me to tell Tetsurou to change the whole script! It took him months to finish that thing. Rewrite it for one character? Seriously, that asshole doesn't think things through."

Issei nodded calmly. He was used to this version of Takahiro. The buzzed and emotional version, that is. And he found it was best to just listen and respond with minimal commentary. "Yeah, that's a big ask."

Takahiro slapped his hand against his thigh. "I'm not doing it. I'm not going to be responsible for pissing Tetsurou off. If he gets upset, he's going to complain to Kenma nonstop. And if he does that, it's going to irritate Kenma. And we've all seen how angry he can be. It's scary. He's almost as bad as Hajime gets."

With a nod of agreement, Issei replied in a mellow voice. "Yeah, Kenma is a real demon sometimes."

Issei clearly remembered the time that Tetsurou thought it would be funny to push Kenma into a swimming pool during a birthday party. Kenma had his phone in his pocket at the time; unsurprisingly, the phone was ruined. The look that Kenma gave Tetsurou once he got out of the pool made the dark haired man instantly turn to run away. Kenma caught up to him, kicked the back of his shins, and then smashed the previously untouched birthday cake all over Tetsurou's head. 

Tooru's nephew had been very upset about his cake being ruined. 

Takahiro continued his rant as he rolled down the window and stuck his hand out, irritably letting the wind blow it around. "They didn't even have a script with them. So I doubt they had the guy read any lines. Tomorrow will be really interesting, because I'm not going to do a thing. I'll just sit back and watch the shit show when Koushi asks Tetsurou for the updated script."

Issei laughed. "You know that makes you seem like a shitty assistant, right?"

"Don't care, 'cause I have a shitty boss sometimes," Takahiro said as he titled his seat back so that he could relax while crossing his arms stubbornly. 

Issei hummed thoughtfully. It was certainly going to be interesting when they all met up the following evening at the theatre. 

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Hidden Potential

When Wakatoshi showed up to the drama department the next evening, he was very intrigued by what he saw. 

The first thing he took in was the room itself. It was rather large and had a ton of chairs that were all facing the stage. There were extra chairs and some folding tables back against one wall. Along the two walls on either side of the stage were doors with labels above them, such as the following: recording studio, wardrobe room, restroom, storage. 

When he focused on the small group of people in the room, the scene before him was not what he would have expected of a group of theatre guys. Not that he had any idea what to expect in the first place; this might very well be normal behavior.

Near the stage, Koushi was being whacked by a thick manuscript, which was in the hands of a rooster haired man. The rest of the friends were watching as the man yelled at Koushi.

"You want me to rewrite this whole thing? This week? Are you kidding me?!"

Koushi was hunched over and covering his head with his hands, but he didn't seem afraid. Instead, he was laughing with amusement. "Chill out, Tetsurou! I thought Makki told you already!"

"He didn't say anything about it, and I'm not surprised! This is your most ridiculous request ever!" Tetsurou yelled loudly as he landed a few more wacks on top of Koushi's head.

Koushi squatted down and kept his hands over his head while Tetsurou continued to smack him with the script. His voice was more playful than apologetic. "I understand that you're upset, and I see now that my idea wasn't a good one."

Takahiro and Issei stood near the fighting friends looking amused. Issei had his phone out, recording the scene so he could show it to those who were not there yet. Takahiro was leaning an arm on Issei's shoulder while watching the scene unfold with a 'serves you right' kind of expression. 

But there was a wine filled thermos in Takahiro's hand; he had it ready to give to Koushi whenever Tetsurou was over his initial anger from being asked for a new manuscript out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Koutarou was behind Tetsurou. He was trying to hold his friend back by the hem of his shirt. "You've got to chill, bro! Take a breather, let's talk it out!"

"I have no words for talking! I poured them all into this manuscript!" Tetsurou said irritably as he landed more hits on Koushi. None were really that hard, because he didn't actually want to hurt his friend. 

Keiji was sitting in a chair not far from the fighting men and he was calmly watching the drama unfold. It wasn't actually the first time he had seen something like this happen, and he knew how far to let it go before intervening. In the chair beside him was Satori, who was watching the men while biting at his thumb nervously. 

Wakatoshi's eyes rested on Satori.

Satori sat in the chair with his feet up so that he could hug his knees to his chest with one arm. He looked like his mind was somewhere else, with attention only partially on the chaos of his friends. He was especially cute with the concerned yet daydreamy expression he wore. 

Wakatoshi wanted to walk over and sit next to him, but a wave of shyness hit him just then. He almost turned around and left despite wanting to go talk to Satori. So he stood by the door and debated about what to do.

But then Satori happened to glance over and notice Wakatoshi standing awkwardly in the doorway. He got up and hurried over. "Hey! Uh, it's not usually like this here… well actually it is like this sometimes… but it's really fun most of the time..."

Wakatoshi looked at Satori and gave a small nod. Talking to the man one on one was ideal, because that was always easier for him than being in a group and trying to keep track of the conversation that went on around him. "It seems like an exciting place with interesting people."

Satori laughed nervously and played with some of the hair behind his ear with his fingers. "Yeah, you could say that."

Wakatoshi studied Satori's face for a moment, noticing that it was beginning to flush red. He hoped it really was an attraction thing and not discomfort. He had a deep, quiet worry that Satori didn't like him in any way. It had seemed like Koushi had been the one who was insistent about him being in the play while Satori had not really said much about it at that time.

The worry eased when Satori gave him a warmly sincere smile; the same beautiful smile that he had seen at the restaurant. It drew his attention down to Satori's lips like it had before. He glanced at them briefly, then looked back up at Satori's eyes. But Satori was blushing even more at that point. 

Koushi had somehow noticed Wakatoshi's arrival despite being repeatedly smacked with the stack of Tetsurou's writing efforts, so he chopped the manuscript out of Tetsurou's hands. "Calm yourself! Our new actor is here. I'll have him do the lines, okay?"

Tetsurou still looked mad, but he stopped attacking Koushi for the time being. "Great, you have him do that."

Koutarou hugged Tetsurou tightly from behind. "That's right, let the anger leave you. I'll squeeze some happiness into you!" He gave Tetsurou a tight squeeze, which led to Tetsurou gasping for air and elbowing at him. 

Koushi walked away from them and came to stand by Satori, then turned to face Wakatoshi. "Glad you made it! Let me introduce you to the small group we have here right now. Tooru isn't here yet, but you already met him. So, over there with the owlish hair is Koutarou Bokuto, in charge of costumes, hair, and makeup. In his arms is Tetsurou Kuroo, our playwright. The polite looking black haired man sitting there is Keiji Akaashi, he does all our music and sound stuff."

Wakatoshi looked at the men as Koushi had pointed them out, and got a nod from each one. They were all people who had been at the restaurant, and there seemed to be no new faces at this point. That felt kind of nice, because the group there was small. It would make it easier to adjust. 

Koushi turned to point at Issei and Takahiro. "The dark haired man is Issei Matsukawa, but you can call him Mattsun. He does our set designs. And his pink haired boyfriend is Takahiro Hanamaki, my lovely assistant. But he goes by Makki."

Issei gave a nod in greeting while Takahiro held up a peace sign. 

Wakatoshi frowned slightly; he wasn't great with names, and that was a lot of names all at once. He had already forgotten most of them. It usually took him a while to actually remember someone's name unless he saw it written. 

Koushi continued before Wakatoshi could process the information already given. "Change of plans, by the way. You'll have lines after all. Would you mind running through some of them with Satori so we can see what you can do?"

Wakatoshi's stomach twisted up nervously. He hoped they wouldn't be mad if he didn't end up taking the part. "I can read lines. But I'm not confident that I will have time to participate in the play."

Koushi gave a friendly smile. "Give it a try, and then you can turn down the part if you don't think it's worth doing. And as for timing, we'll do whatever we can to accommodate your schedule!" He then turned to Takahiro. "A couple scripts, please!"

Takahiro handed Koushi two of the thick manuscripts.

Koushi handed a manuscript to each of the two men and then nodded towards the stage. "Go on up there and do the last scene. Satori, start with the line 'I knew you could never love me.' And then Wakatoshi, jump on in after and show us what you can do!"

Wakatoshi followed Satori up onto the stage. It seemed bigger now that he was standing on the huge half circle. The curtains were bunched up at the edge of the stage on either side and he wondered what was past them, as there were walkways to each side behind them. He hoped Satori would give him a tour of the place when they were done with the lines since he had never had a chance to explore a theatre before. 

Then his attention fell back on Satori, who had his eyes closed. He was taking slow, deep breaths as if preparing for diving into a pool. He seemed very focused. 

Wakatoshi leaned towards Satori to whisper. "Should I be doing that too?"

Satori opened his eyes and blushed. "Oh, not unless you think it would be helpful. I always get nervous before doing lines in front of people, so I was just working to focus and calm down before we start."

"Hm. I see," Wakatoshi said. Surprisingly, he himself didn't actually feel nervous. It was just a matter of reading from a piece of paper at this point. But he figured he would probably be more nervous if there was an audience, and if he had to recite the lines without the script. 

Satori suddenly cleared his throat and started to read from the page; his voice was emotion filled. "I knew you could never love me, not really! You've just been pretending this whole time, haven't you? You lied to me… you led me on!"

Wakatoshi blinked silently for a moment. Satori had put so much depth into the lines, with such feeling. And he looked genuinely upset. It was incredible; for a brief moment, Wakatoshi really felt like Satori meant what he had just said. And with such a passionate example, he felt like he needed to rise to the same level. So he gave it his best shot. He decided to use a character from his favorite show as a reference for how to deliver his lines. 

"I never lied to you! I love you more than anything, more than anyone! You really think I could fake a love like we have? This is the real deal, me and you! And I'll never give up on us!"

After he said the lines, there was a moment of silence. 

Satori didn't continue speaking, so Wakatoshi stopped as well and read the script closely to see if there was something else he was supposed to say before Satori could speak again.

Meanwhile, everyone in the room was floored. Wakatoshi had delivered the lines perfectly, with all the emotional depth needed and then some. Oikawa himself would have been impressed if he had been there to see it. Even though he probably wouldn't have openly admitted to it.

Satori was frozen as he stared at Wakatoshi, and his mouth was slightly open. 

Wakatoshi cleared his throat and spoke in his usual voice. "It says I'm to grab you and kiss you. Should I do so?"

Satori's eyes widened and a dark blush crept over his face as he started shaking his head. "No, you don't have to do that this time."

Koushi spoke at almost the exact same moment. "Yes, kiss him! Keep the scene going!" He snapped his fingers at Makki, who quickly handed him a microphone, then he yelled into it. "Kiss him!"

Wakatoshi looked between the two of them. Koushi was saying yes, but Satori had said no. Since Satori was the recipient of the would-be kiss, that was the answer he listened to. "I won't kiss him if he said not to."

Keiji hummed and nodded appreciatively from where he sat. "I approve of a guy who values consent."

Wakatoshi assumed Keiji just meant as a member of the play; he didn't know that the dark haired man also meant as a potential boyfriend for Satori. 

Koutarou and Tetsurou were sitting together on the chair next to Keiji. Tetsurou was on Koutarou's lap, since his owlish friend still had him squeezed into a hug. And he looked like he had been especially moved by Wakatoshi's performance.

"He did a damn good job on those lines. It was just how I imagined it when I was writing," Tetsurou said. Then he glared at Koushi. "And to think you wanted to take his lines away before even hearing him say them."

Koushi waved a hand at Tetsurou dismissively, but it was almost a guarantee that he was mentally kicking himself for almost messing things up.

Koutarou was grinning widely as his eyes moved up and down Wakatoshi's body. "He'll look great in the costumes I'm designing. Let's keep him!"

Koushi yelled into the microphone again. "Sounds like a yes from the judges, so welcome to the cast!"

Wakatoshi glanced over the script while flipping through it quickly. There were tons of lines and he didn't know if he could really memorize them all, let alone perform them in front of a big audience. But a part of him had really enjoyed acting the scene out with Satori; he thought about how fun it would be to do the whole play together. 

Satori cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. "If it's too much, you don't have to agree to it. This is a long script for a first timer, and the play would last about an hour. We would have shows every night for a week. And the two of us would have to spend lots of time together for memorizing the lines and stuff. You'd have no free time for a while."

Little did Satori know that his last couple sentences were what made Wakatoshi's final decision. With the prospect of spending a lot more time with Satori in his sights, he didn't care if it meant no free time. His mind was made up.

"I'll play the part."

Satori looked up and smiled brightly at the declaration, and that alone made it worth it. Wakatoshi felt like he would do anything to see that beautiful smile that made the skin around Satori's eyes crinkle ever so slightly. Part of him was wishing they could have gone ahead and done the kiss, because he wondered how cute Satori would have been right after while all starry-eyed and swoony. 

Koutarou stood up quickly, which unintentionally flung Tetsurou off his lap. Then he pulled a measuring tape out of his pocket and hurried over to climb up on stage. "I'm going to take your measurements so I can start cutting out fabric for your costumes!"

Wakatoshi backed away since he didn't really enjoy being touched by strangers; Koutarou still felt like a complete stranger, and he couldn't yet remember the man's name.

Satori seemed to read his discomfort, so he hurried to stand between Wakatoshi and Koutarou. "Let's save that for another time."

Koutarou frowned as he reluctantly agreed. He settled for sitting down on stage and opening his sketchbook to do a quick drawing of Wakatoshi's figure for later reference. "What's your height and weight?"

Wakatoshi paused thoughtfully. "About six four, and around two hundred pounds."

"Nice! Your height isn't too different from Satori's. He's not as built as you, though. You could probably carry him around easily, I bet," Koutarou said absently as he sketched. 

Wakatoshi nodded as he looked Satori up and down. "I work out a lot, so I believe it would be easy to carry him."

Satori laughed at that. "Hey, I'm stronger and heavier than I look, okay?" With that, he flexed one of his arms playfully.

Wakatoshi grinned at the goofy display.

Tetsurou looked over at Koushi with a smug expression. "Well, I'm glad to know that my script will be acceptable, _as is!_ Because I sure as hell wasn't going to change it."

Koushi ignored the glare from Tetsurou as he spoke to Satori and Wakatoshi. "Since you two are the leads, I want you to run lines together as often as you can. Get together whenever you have time, okay?"

Wakatoshi considered the request. "I usually have just one or two free nights a week. I work often and also have homework to do." 

Satori smiled encouragingly. "That's fine. We'll figure it out. Maybe we could get together to do homework and then run lines afterwards. If you wanted to, that is."

Wakatoshi nodded. "We could try that."

Issei and Takahiro stood close together; both were amazed at how things had turned out. Neither man would have predicted that the group would actually find a new actor out of nowhere. Let alone someone who actually had hidden talent. 

Takahiro took a drink of wine from his large travel mug, which was half empty; he was buzzed. "This is turning out pretty good. Wait a second… doesn't this mean that I made this happen, since I'm the one who called for the meeting at the restaurant?"

Issei snorted. "Kind of, I guess. If stealing credit makes you happy."

Takahiro elbowed Issei's side and pouted at him.

So Issei laughed and pulled his pink haired boyfriend into his arms for a hug, which Takahiro begrudgingly accepted. 

Koushi walked over and grabbed the thermos of wine from Takahiro. "This was for me, right? I'm parched. Helping love take root is exhausting."

Takahiro heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I just hope it works out in the long run. Because I'd hate to see Satori get hurt."

"I don't want him to get hurt either. And I really think it will work out this time. That's what my instincts tell me," Koushi said softly. 

  
  



	5. The Die Was Cast

The group of men hung out at the theatre until past eleven o'clock at night. Wakatoshi and Satori spent most of that time running lines together. Both men seemed to be deeply enjoying the experience.

Oikawa had eventually shown up once his last class of the day was finished, and even he was impressed by the stage chemistry of the pair. Though he was not about to openly praise Wakatoshi; that would feel like a wound to his pride as the one who, in his opinion, should have played the role.

The difference between Wakatoshi being himself and Wakatoshi while acting was like night and day. He was usually stiff and a little awkward when he interacted with others; but when he switched into character, he became more animated. He found himself having fun pretending to be someone else.

Eventually, Kenma showed up to see how things were going and to get Tetsurou to come home. As he walked into the theatre, he glanced at the stage where Satori and Wakatoshi sat; the pair seemed to be finished running lines for the night and had moved on to casual conversation.

"Who's that?" Kenma asked when he reached Tetsurou's chair, which was an aisle seat facing the stage.

Tetsurou turned and gave Kenma a soft look as he pulled the blonde haired man onto his lap. "That's our new actor, Wakatoshi. He's going to play the love interest for Satori. Also, Suga is hoping they get together. Wants them to bond over playing a couple to become a couple… or something like that."

Kenma hummed and snuggled into Tetsurou's lap as he analyzed Wakatoshi from afar; he thought he recognized the man from somewhere. After a few moments of reflection, he finally placed where it was. "I actually have a class with him. I've seen him give a speech, and he wasn't very expressive. I'm surprised he's playing a lead role. Was this all Suga's doing?"

Tetsurou shook his head. "Nah. He earned that role, he was practically made for it. Although Suga initially asked me to rewrite the whole _damn_ play because he thought Wakatoshi wouldn't want to memorize a bunch of lines or some shit."

Kenma frowned and glanced at Tetsurou. "What the hell, seriously? This manuscript is your best work yet."

"I know, right? But don't worry, I smacked him around with the very manuscript he dared to insult just for the sake of irony, so he learned his lesson. And you should have seen Suga's face when Wakatoshi nailed the delivery on the lines. Bet he was kicking himself for almost missing out on that talent," Tetsurou said smugly. 

Keiji, who had a notebook in which he was listing needed sound effects for the play, spoke from where he sat a row ahead of the couple. "Wakatoshi really seemed to get into character. He slipped into method acting."

Koutarou was laying on the floor of the aisle next to Keiji while sketching out costume designs and prop ideas. He glanced up at the others with a wide grin. "He's going to look _so good_ in the costumes I'll be making for him. He's got the body needed to pull off some of the more daring looks I've been dreaming up."

Tetsurou chuckled as he mindlessly ran his fingers through Kenma's shoulder length hair. "Careful, don't put him in anything that'll make it hard for Satori to focus."

With a smirk, Koutarou replied right away. "Suga specifically told me to go for bold and alluring. So that's what I'm gonna do!"

Kenma glanced at Satori, who was well out of earshot from them. "I hope Suga isn't forcing anything on Satori. I feel like there were times that the arranged dates he used to set up turned out rather awkwardly."

Keiji hummed thoughtfully. "Technically, this isn't an arranged date. And in some ways it really is Suga's best idea. There isn't the pressure of labels or expectations for the relationship. They can start out as friends, and they have an activity to do together that will make the relationship grow."

Tetsurou nodded and looked over at Koushi, who was with Takahiro at a small table in the back of the room. "Suga seems pretty confident about the whole thing, and I would say he's got good reason to be. I think Satori really likes Wakatoshi. It's been a long time since I've seen him so flustered when first meeting someone."

"It does seem like Satori's already crushing hard," Kenma remarked while he studied the pair. 

They all looked over to see that Kenma was right; Satori's face was animated and bright as he and Wakatoshi sat close to each other on the stage. They seemed rather comfortable with each other now compared to earlier in the evening. Satori was practically gushing over whatever he was talking about, and Wakatoshi was listening intently. 

Keiji stood up and stretched, then reached a hand towards where Koutarou was still laying on the floor. "Let's go home now, Kou. I'm tired."

Koutarou slapped his notebook closed and jumped up, then took Keiji's hand in his own as he glanced at the large clock on the wall and frowned. "Oh, I didn't realize how late it was! I'm sorry, babe. I know you have an early class tomorrow."

"It's okay. I was enjoying myself, so the time escaped me as well," Keiji said, followed by a yawn as he led Koutarou towards the exit.

Kenma got up from Tetsurou's lap and pulled his messy haired boyfriend up off the chair. "Let's go, too. I'd like to play games before bed."

"Maybe I'll play some, too. The hard part of my job is done now that the script is complete. I get to sit back and watch the fruits of my labor grow while all these guys pour sweat and tears into making my vision come to life," Tetsurou said with a grin as he took Kenma's hand. They left the room, following behind Keiji and Koutarou.

Shortly after, Hajime and Daichi came into the theatre. They were there to pick up Koushi and Tooru. 

Hajime snuck up behind Tooru, who was sitting in the back row of the audience seating, and slid his arms around his shoulders. When Tooru startled from the sudden touch, Hajime chucked quietly. "Wow, you were super zoned into watching those two. Is that guy the new actor you mentioned yesterday?"

Tooru relaxed his head back against Hajime's chest with a sigh. "Yeah, that's Wakatoshi. He's actually… kind of good at acting."

Hajime moved to squeeze in between Tooru and the chair so they could share the seat. "Hmm. That will be good for the play, right?"

Tooru scooted forward to make room for Hajime as he replied. "Yeah, I guess. We'll see if he can actually memorize lines and handle the pressure of a crowd. If he can't handle it, I'll be ready to take over."

"You're cute when you're jealous," Hajime said teasingly as he squeezed Tooru in his arms. 

Tooru let out a huff and pouted. "I'm _not_ jealous!"

Hajime kissed Tooru's neck gently. "Sure you're not."

At the back of the room, Issei was sleeping on the floor. A few paces away, Takahiro and Koushi were huddled together at a table to discuss scheduling and budgeting details. 

"If Wakatoshi can make it once a week to group rehearsals, I think it'll be fine," Takahiro said thoughtfully.

Koushi nodded silently while sipping some coffee out of the thermos that had previously held his wine; he had needed to sharpen his focus for going over the fine details of everything.

"We'll have to get him here more frequently when it's closer to opening night, but for now that should work," Takahiro added in a tired voice. The excitement of the day had worn him out.

Daichi was standing beside the two men with his arms crossed. They were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't notice him. So he loudly cleared his throat, which made both men jump. 

"What's in the thermos, Suga?" Daichi asked. He knew that his boyfriend loved to have a glass of wine in the evening to reward himself for getting through his classes. However, it would be his preference that Suga wait until they were already at home to do so. 

Koushi glanced from the thermos over to Daichi, then grinned innocently as he replied. "Just coffee."

"Wine followed by coffee. That's our Suga," Takahiro said with a smug expression. Ratting out Koushi was his payback for having been asked to tell Tetsurou to rewrite the script. 

Daichi gave Koushi a small frown. "What happened to _'I'll only drink at home on weekdays'_?"

With a playful pout, Koushi stood up and pressed against Daichi. "I worked hard today to make the sparks of romance fly, so I needed a little refreshment after. Helping my friends find happiness is always exhausting."

"Ah, I see," Daichi said as he leaned in to kiss Koushi. "You're an overworked cupid."

Koushi grabbed Daichi's shirt so the kiss could last longer. When he finally let go, he winked twice. "Take me home. I want to go have some _fun_ with you."

"Gross. I didn't need to hear that," Takahiro said as he got up and walked away to go wake Issei up.

A dark blush crossed Daichi's cheeks as Koushi moved to kiss him again. They embraced for a moment before Daichi pulled away and took Koushi by the hand. "You're going right to bed when we get home."

"Oh my, what will you do to me once I'm there?" Koushi said in a sultry voice as Daichi led him towards the exit.

Daichi nodded at Hajime, letting the man know they could leave, then glanced at Koushi. "Nothing. We need to sleep because we have to be up at six tomorrow."

Koushi pouted. "Aw, no fun. Will you at least carry me to the car?"

"Sure, climb on," Daichi said as he knelt down. 

Koushi wrapped his arms around Daichi's shoulders and let himself be lifted up. Daichi led the way out with Koushi on his back while Hajime and Tooru followed. The four of them were roommates and usually carpooled together in Daichi's truck.

Meanwhile, Takahiro had finally roused Issei enough for the man to sit up. Issei was not a night person, so he often fell asleep when the group ended up staying past ten. Takahiro had a whole album full of funny photos that he and Koushi had taken after balancing things on Issei's body while he was unconscious; the man was a very heavy sleeper. 

While looking over at Satori and Wakatoshi, who were still deep in conversation, Takahiro gave a flat smirk. "Let's go without Satori. He seems busy and we wouldn't want to interrupt."

Issei glanced at the two men on the stage and gave a reluctant half smile. "You think he'll be mad if we leave him?"

Takahiro pulled Issei along behind him while heading towards the door. "Maybe, depending on how it turns out. But Suga isn't the only one who can plot and plan, you know."

He glanced back once at Satori and Wakatoshi, who were deep in conversation. The pair looked quite happy together. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping the slow burn thing is coming off well.


	6. Afraid Of The Dark

Satori was deep in conversation with Wakatoshi while sitting across from him on the floor of the stage. Wakatoshi was a good listener and Satori loved to talk. 

"I was glad when I got the scholarship for this school since all my friends were planning on going here too. It's been really fun getting to spend the last few years acting and making the magic of live theatre happen," Satori said; he was finishing a story about when he had started acting. 

He had been in his first play in kindergarten; it was just a simple one and he was incredibly nervous. But when he delivered his line and the audience clapped for him, he felt happy. From then on, he always asked for the biggest part in every school play. As much as he feared being the center of attention because of his mild social anxiety, he also enjoyed the thrill of bringing a character off the paper and into real life for that fleeting moment of time on stage. 

He met most of his current friend group in highschool. They were in a drama club together and the teacher encouraged them all to get into the theatre program at Southern Oregon University. That was how Satori and his friends had ended up at that college.

"It sounds like you and your friends really enjoy being here," Wakatoshi said with a small grin. 

Satori nodded and smiled widely. "Yeah, it's been amazing! I'm sad that we're all graduating this summer. What about you, what do you and your friends do for fun?"

Wakatoshi paused for a few moments before he responded in a flat voice. "I came to this school with someone I grew up with, and I didn't bother making many other friends. So now I just focus my time on work and school."

Satori's hopes fell a little. He wondered if the 'someone' that Wakatoshi was referring to was just a friend, or if they were in a relationship. Kenma and Tetsurou, as well as Tooru and Hajime, were childhood friends before they started dating. So it seemed as likely as not that Wakatoshi was dating his childhood friend. 

"He'll probably be excited for you 'cause you're in a play now. You can bring him to rehearsals sometime, if you want," Satori said; he was trying not to sound disappointed. 

"I would not want that. He and I are no longer friends," Wakatoshi said. And his tone was more harsh than Satori was expecting. 

"Oh. I'm sorry…." Satori said gently. There was a brief moment of quiet before he continued. "I'm glad we're friends now since you don't seem to know many other people." 

Wakatoshi glanced at Satori with a slight nod. "I look forward to our friendship."

Satori gave a warm smile, though he was very curious about why Wakatoshi was no longer in contact with what seemed like a former best friend. But he didn't want to pry. However, he hoped that he and Wakatoshi could eventually get to the point where they were able to talk about the troublesome parts of their past.

They both had become totally engrossed in their little corner of the world, and it was one in the morning by the time Satori finally realized that all his other friends had left. With a slight frown, he stood up and looked around.

"My roommates ditched me. Those jerks."

It would not have been much of an issue, except for the fact that he was deeply afraid of walking through town at night. The thought of wandering through the dark all alone in the cold chill of February was very unappealing to him. But he had only recently developed his fear of walking around at night; it was the previous summer, when he had been injured, that the fear had started. And he usually didn't have to worry about it since Takahiro and Issei always gave him a ride home; or they usually did, before now. He cursed the pair in his head and silently swore he would bring it up with them the next time he saw them.

Wakatoshi stood up and checked his phone for the time. "I could walk you home. How far away do you live?"

Satori sighed and twisted the hem of his thin jacket between his fingers nervously. "It's kind of a long walk. You don't have to come with me and go out of your way."

The apartment that Satori shared with Takahiro and Issei was all the way across town; it would take fifty minutes to reach by foot. To make things worse, the busses were no longer running at this hour. Satori considered trying to call a taxi or an uber, but he didn't really have the cash to float that cost at the moment. He had a pretty tight budget since he only had his financial aid through the school to fund his living expenses. He had won an acting scholarship and had to be very frugal with how he spent money. 

After a silent moment of contemplation, Wakatoshi shared an idea. "My apartment is only a ten minute walk from here. Would you like to stay over?"

"Oh… I mean, if that's okay with you?" Satori replied, having not expected that offer. But he was very grateful for it. 

Wakatoshi spoke in a calm and sincere voice. "I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't okay with it."

After a very short moment of internal debate, Satori nodded and gave a warm smile. "Okay. Thank you."

They left the theatre together; it was located right on the school campus and had its own large parking lot. As they crossed through the parking lot and reached the sidewalk, the cold air of February hit Satori hard. The temperature was just below freezing. He shivered while regretting that he had only worn a thin jacket that day.

"It's way too cold. We might get snow overnight since it's supposed to rain before morning," Satori said as his teeth clattered slightly. 

Wakatoshi hummed. "I don't mind the cold. I prefer it, actually. Would you like my jacket?"

Satori glanced at Wakatoshi, who was already unzipping his warm looking coat. "I couldn't take your jacket. You'd freeze."

Wakatoshi finished shrugging out of his jacket and held it towards Satori. "I'll be fine, you can use it."

Reluctantly, Satori took the jacket and slipped it on. It was as warm as it had looked; it still held Wakatoshi's body heat. And it smelled nice, like it had recently been washed. 

Satori let out a quiet hum once he was bundled into it. "Thank you. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

With a nod, Wakatoshi replied plainly. "Yes. Like I said, I prefer the cold. And it's a short walk."

Satori couldn't tell if Wakatoshi was shivering or not; it was too dark to tell. There were not enough street lights in the area, which made him feel particularly unsettled. There were well known rumors of shady characters that lurked around campus at night. And he had already experienced that first hand in the past. 

There was silence between them for a minute, and Satori glanced around cautiously as they walked. He unintentionally moved closer and closer to Wakatoshi until their shoulders bumped. "Sorry! Wasn't watching where I was going," he said as he stepped away a bit. His voice was tight from his nerves. 

Wakatoshi spoke solemnly. "You seem nervous. Are you regretting the decision to come to my apartment? I could call you a taxi when we get there if you don't want to stay."

Satori shook his head. "No, not at all. I appreciate your willingness to help me out. This is just a sketchy area, and I'm kind of afraid of the dark."

"I see. Well, I'll protect you if necessary. So you don't need to worry," Wakatoshi said confidently.

With a slight blush, Satori mumbled his thanks. He wasn't used to someone being so blunt and open with their consideration. 

And Satori had no way of knowing this, but Wakatoshi was well versed in several types of martial arts. He had gotten into it when he was a kid because he wanted to be able to fight like some of his favorite anime characters. 

A sudden loud crashing sound made Satori jump and grab onto Wakatoshi's arm. He had let out a high pitched squeaking noise, which made him as embarrassed as he was startled. He gripped Wakatoshi tightly and looked around for the source of the sound. 

Wakatoshi didn't seem worried, and for good reason; it was just a cat knocking a lid off of a metal trash can. 

Satori laughed nervously when he saw the cat running away as he let go of Wakatoshi. "Ah, sorry for being in your personal space. I just have such a thing about walking at night. I get freaked out pretty easily."

"That must be difficult," Wakatoshi said quietly. 

"Yeah, it kind of sucks," Satori replied while tucking his hands into his armpits as he crossed his arms to hug himself. 

There was a moment of silence between them as they stood in the chill of the night; they looked at each other even though it was impossible to see expressions well without any light source. 

After a moment, Wakatoshi cleared his throat and held an elbow towards Satori. "You can hold onto me if it would help."

Wakatoshi's voice had been so quiet that Satori almost missed what he said. With a curious raise of his eyebrows, he looked at the elbow that was being held towards him; Wakatoshi wasn't looking directly at him anymore, perhaps from shyness or nerves.

Satori gave a small grin as he reached out to hold Wakatoshi's arm. "I do think that would help, thank you."

Wakatoshi hummed softly in response and started moving forward. 

They walked along silently with Satori holding tightly onto Wakatoshi's elbow until they reached a small apartment complex. It was all one story with several small buildings bunched together. It seemed like there were four apartments for each building; they could not be that big on the inside based on the compact size of the outside.

Satori somewhat reluctantly took his hand off of Wakatoshi's arm when they reached the door; it had been nice to hold onto him. Wakatoshi unlocked the door and walked inside, slipping his shoes off along the way. Satori stepped inside next and slipped his shoes off as well, then glanced around the small room. 

It was a studio apartment. The bedroom, living room, and kitchen were in the same area. Although kitchen was a generous term in this instance; there was a mini fridge, a small sink between two counters that were just as minuscule, and a conduction burner that took up one of the two counter spaces. There were three cupboards above the sink, though they likely couldn't hold much due to their petite size. 

In the rest of the room was a futon, a couch with a blanket folded over the top, a coffee table, and a small dresser with a TV on top of it. The futon was between the couch and the dresser, and the coffee table was at the foot of the futon. There was just barely enough room to walk between the futon and the three things surrounding it. It was certainly a cramped space, but Satori cheerfully thought that it seemed cozy.

The only separated space was the small bathroom in the back corner. That room had a little washing machine for laundry built into one wall, and next to it was a stand up shower that seemed it would be amusingly small for a well built person like Wakatoshi. Against the other wall of the bathroom was a toilet, and beside it was a sink with a mirror over it. There were small cupboards below the sink and on the wall over the mirror. 

Wakatoshi gestured around the room. "There's not much to it, but make yourself at home."

"Thanks," Satori said as he took another step into the room. Just then, his stomach growled loudly. He blushed slightly as he remembered he had not eaten dinner, nor had Wakatoshi. 

Wakatoshi glanced at Satori. "I'll make food for us. Would you like to shower? It would help you warm up."

Satori looked down at himself. "Oh, I don't have anything else to wear. So I think I'm okay."

Wakatoshi moved to the small dresser and then pulled out boxers and a long sleeved pajama set. He also grabbed a towel. "You can borrow these for the night."

Satori took the clothes gratefully.

"Thanks, you're really thoughtful. I think you're a sweet guy," he said as he walked towards the small bathroom. He thought he saw Wakatoshi blush and smile out of the corner of his eye, which made him happy. It was about time that he wasn't the only one blushing all the time.

When he stepped inside of the small room, he undressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He frowned slightly at a ragged scar that was across his stomach, stretching from his belly button to his left hip. He hated it; it was an unpleasant reminder of something he wanted to forget. He turned around with a sigh and started the water, waiting for it to warm up before he stepped into the shower. 

And the shower felt even smaller once he was inside. There was just enough room for him, with barely enough space to move around so he could soap up his body and wash off. 

The showerhead was lower than most, so Satori had to do an awkward little knee bend to be able to wash his hair. It was amusing to him that Wakatoshi somehow used this shower as well. The man was certainly bulkier than he was; only slightly taller, but more strongly built. Satori himself was lean, though he still had a bit of muscle mass. 

Thinking about how funny it would be to see Wakatoshi shower in the petite stall accidentally led to him picturing the man naked, which was an exciting thought. But this wasn't the time or place for that imagery. So he shook his head dramatically and turned the water on cold to calm himself before he stepped out.

Once he had dried his body, he pulled on the borrowed boxers. They were a little loose on him, but they would stay up alright. The pajama bottoms felt even looser. Although it didn't matter since there was a drawstring on them, so he tightened the waistband to his liking. 

The shirt was the last thing he slipped on, and it smelled strongly of whatever detergent Wakatoshi had used to wash his clothes. It was a lovely smell, Satori thought. He took a few more sniffs of it before he put the towel over his head to dry his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. A Spark

Wakatoshi had prepared a couple bowls of leftover roast chicken, as well as some peeled and sliced apples on the side. He ended up leaning against the small counter while he waited for Satori to finish with the shower. 

Earlier, he had felt nervous about inviting Satori to his apartment. He didn't know if that was appropriate for a new friend to do. And he had never had anyone stay the night at his new apartment before; not since moving in when he needed to get out of his ex's place. 

But Satori had seemed really nervous about walking home. So offering him a place to stay was the most logical and kind thing to do. And perhaps, just maybe, he had wanted to keep spending time with Satori. He had been surprised at how much he enjoyed reading through lines together since he usually had a hard time expressing his emotions openly in front of others. But for whatever reason, when he was pretending to be someone else, it came more easily. 

He wondered if he could figure out a way to get comfortable with his bringing his own emotions out more clearly. But he also felt that being emotionally reserved was just a part of who he was, and he didn't necessarily think a change was necessary. He wanted to be accepted for who he was, not for what others wanted him to be. 

His father had always encouraged him to be himself. Though the man had passed away a few years earlier, Wakatoshi still held on to his father's message; that he was worthy of love and acceptance for exactly who he was.

Just then, Satori stepped out of the small bathroom with his hair still wet. And he was wearing his borrowed pajamas. He smiled at Wakatoshi as he toweled off his hair. 

Wakatoshi felt his heart beat speed up as he took in the sight of Satori with his red hair down and dripping, eyes heavy from exhaustion, and lips curved into that delicate yet playful smile.

When it came down to it, Wakatoshi experienced a good share of anxiety in his life. And he felt like attraction was a slightly similar feeling; both made his heart race as if it couldn't stop, and both made his stomach fluttery. But he didn't want to go for a long run to shake off the feelings of attraction, whereas he felt compelled to do so when he was particularly anxious. 

The thought of running reminded him that he had not gotten to take his nightly jog yet. He didn't think that he would be able to sleep without doing that, so he decided he would excuse himself for a run after they ate.

"The shower really warmed me up. Is it snowing outside yet?" Satori asked with a curious expression as he set his old clothes down by the couch, including the jacket he had borrowed from Wakatoshi.

In response, Wakatoshi stepped over to the front door and slipped on his shoes, then walked outside a few paces. He saw snowflakes falling and reached a hand out to catch some. He liked everything about snow; watching it falling down, being out in it, feeling it. It was his favorite kind of weather. 

Satori wrapped his towel around his wet hair to shield against the cold, then stepped outside next to Wakatoshi. He tilted his head back to catch snowflakes in his mouth while holding his arms out so he could catch some as well. 

"I love the snow," Satori said once he had finally managed to catch several snowflakes in his mouth. 

"So do I," Wakatoshi said. Then he glanced at Satori's bare feet and frowned. "But you should go back inside, or you might get sick."

Satori grinned playfully. "I have a very hearty immune system, I'll have you know. But I do want to go back inside, because it's absolutely freezing and my toes are starting to hurt." With that, he spun around and leaped back into the apartment. 

After Wakatoshi went inside and shut the door, he gave a soft smile as he watched Satori do a little dance to warm himself up.

When Satori caught Wakatoshi looking, he blushed deeply; however, he did a few more jumps and wiggles anyway. 

Wakatoshi walked over to the counter and then offered one of the bowls of food to Satori.

"Thanks," Satori said, followed immediately by a yawn. 

They went to sit at the low coffee table together and munched on the sweet apples and seasoned chicken in silence. Satori was starting to look droopy like a wilted flower; his shoulders hunched forward slightly and his head kept tilting to one side, making him wobble.

Wakatoshi thought it was especially cute. 

It was almost two in the morning at that point, so Wakatoshi was feeling tired as well. But he was still restless from not having had his run yet, so he needed to make that happen as soon as he could.

As he finished eating, he decided he would let Satori sleep on the futon while he himself slept on the couch. And he suddenly remembered that he had an extra toothbrush, so he went to get it and then offered it to Satori. 

"This is new. You can use it."

Satori had just finished his food and had been dozing off where he sat. When Wakatoshi spoke to him, he roused himself and stood up to take the toothbrush. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me this evening," he said sleepily.

"It was no trouble. I should thank you for asking me to be part of the play. I think it will be a unique experience," Wakatoshi remarked as he studied Satori's tired face. 

Satori gave a cat-like smile. "We'll be getting more comfortable with each other over the next few months since we'll be hanging out all the time. It'll be fun."

Wakatoshi thought the idea of getting closer to Satori was both exciting and terrifying. "Yes. It will be interesting."

Satori slowly shuffled to the bathroom so he could brush his teeth; if a wilted flower could walk, it would look just like him at that moment.

Wakatoshi decided to wait for Satori to be done before going in to brush his own teeth, since there wasn't a lot of room in the bathroom. He ended up sitting on the edge of the coffee table while he stared at Satori; the man looked different with his hair down, in a good way. Even the baggy pajamas seemed to suit him.

He was glad he happened to have those pajamas at all. They had been a gift from his father. He had actually never worn them because he preferred just boxers to sleep in. Clothes were too restrictive for nighttime, and would always make him sweaty. 

Satori walked out of the bathroom when he was done brushing, then gave Wakatoshi a sleepy smile. "I get the couch, right? Can I use the blanket that's on it?"

"Sleep on the futon. I don't mind the couch," Wakatoshi replied plainly. 

With a tilt of his head, Satori replied in an uncertain voice. "Are you sure?"

Wakatoshi nodded and moved towards the bathroom. "I'm going for a quick jog after I brush my teeth. But feel free to go to sleep as soon as you'd like."

A worried expression was Satori's immediate response. "You're going to go out and jog alone... in the middle of the night... when it's snowing out? What if you slip and get hurt? Or what if… a group of people attack you? There are some bad people around here, Wakatoshi."

"I always run at night. It's part of my routine. I don't sleep well, otherwise," Wakatoshi stated matter-of-factly. 

However, Satori didn't look convinced that it was a safe thing to do; he crossed his arms and gave something of a pout. 

Wakatoshi pondered for a moment about how he might give reassurance. And the first thing that came to mind was to flip Satori using a martial arts move just to show that he could defend himself; he was so tired that it even seemed like a good idea. 

So he did it. 

He grabbed Satori around the waist and lifted him up, resulting in a surprised squeak from the man. He then flipped him onto the futon with ease. He automatically moved to pin Satori's hands down and straddle his waist, then he gave his explanation. "As you can see, I have ample knowledge of self defense. So I'll be fine."

Satori blinked up at Wakatoshi from where he was pinned down flat on his back; his eyes were wide, his eyebrows were raised and his lips were slightly parted. The two men locked gazes and stared at each other in silence for a drawn out moment. Satori wore an expression that Wakatoshi couldn't quite place, so it was surprising when he started laughing. 

"Wow, I was not expecting that!" Satori said through giggles. 

Wakatoshi moved to get off of Satori while feeling himself blush slightly. Now that he considered his actions, he realized he had probably been too touchy. "I'm sorry for grabbing you. I wanted to show you that I have reason to be confident in my safety while running at night."

It was Satori's turn to blush. "It's fine. It was a good demonstration. I should apologize for getting in the way of your nightly routine. So don't let me interrupt, just do what you usually do. I'll blend right in… just pretend I'm not even here."

With that, Satori crawled further up the futon and tucked himself into the blanket. He pulled it up to his chin, then smiled as he closed his eyes and stilled his body.

Wakatoshi looked at Satori for a moment while studying his features. There was no way he could pretend that Satori wasn't there; the man's presence was quite obvious. But a short moment later, he realized that Satori was joking. He smiled to himself as he went to turn the lights off so that Satori could sleep, then he slipped out of the apartment to go for his nightly jog. 

There was something about running at night that made him feel peaceful and calm, so he almost never skipped it. And he usually thought about various things while jogging because it was a time when he could effectively sort his thoughts. But tonight there was a consistent theme, and it happened to be a certain redheaded man. 

Wakatoshi was surprised at how quickly Satori seemed to have soaked into his mind. Since meeting him the day before, there had hardly been a stretch of time when he wasn't thinking about him. 

He once again thought of a moth being drawn to flame; Satori's brightness acted as a beautiful beacon, and he wanted to follow along wherever that light went. Satori was captivating, kind, sincere, and all around fun to be with. And as though due to an irresistible spark, Satori had somehow shared his fire; it was burning steadily inside of Wakatoshi and had become an ever growing source of warmth. 

Most of the time, Wakatoshi got tired of being around people and needed a break from them. It felt exhausting to socialize after a certain point; usually a couple hours. But he had just spent the last seven or so hours with Satori, and he still found himself wanting to know what the man would say or do next. 

As he jogged along through the falling snow, he smiled to himself. The endorphins from running were mixing with the excitement of his ever intensifying crush on Satori. He felt like he could run forever.

It wasn't long after when he reached a point of no thought. The only thing that existed in that moment was the delicate snowflakes floating down around him and his own heartbeat drumming away steadily. The euphoria of running pushed him onward as he followed his usual route that would eventually loop back around to his home.

When he got back from his run some time later, he tried to be quiet in case Satori had already fallen asleep. And he thought the man must have since it was silent in the apartment aside from light breathing. 

He went to shower, then took his time washing his hair and soaping up his body as he reflected on the day. It certainly had been exciting to meet everyone in the theatre department, though he still didn't remember most of their names. He needed to ask Satori to write them all down so that he would be able to remember them.

He thought of all the lines he had read through with Satori; they were very intimate. The play was about a couple that had just started dating. It was probably silly, but he already felt really close to Satori after spending hours talking to each other like a couple. He wondered if Satori felt the same, or if the man was so used to acting that the pretend intimacy didn't have an affect on him. 

Then Wakatoshi remembered he would be kissing Satori in the last scene. His heart rate picked up and he started to feel nervous. He had only kissed one other person; his former best friend who was now his ex boyfriend. And that man had been less than kind to him, especially towards the end of their relationship. It had soured him on dating as well as intimacy. When they first broke up, he didn't think he would ever want to date again.

Memories of his ex boyfriend came flooding back, which made Wakatoshi even more anxious. He frowned because he hated feeling like that despite having run already; it was frustrating. If it was earlier in the night, he might have gone for another run just to mellow himself out.

He sighed as he rinsed off his body once more, then stepped out to towel himself off. Once he was dry, he realized he'd forgotten to bring fresh boxers into the bathroom; he was used to dressing in the living space. So he turned the bathroom light off to avoid waking Satori before stepping out into the main room. It was totally dark, but he knew the space well enough to find his dresser and grab a pair of boxers. He took them back to the bathroom and put them on. 

Then he started toweling off his hair aggressively, trying to wipe the bad memories away as if they were within the moisture in his hair. 

He took a deep breath as he hung his towel to dry, then he looked at himself in the mirror. He resembled his late father so much. And if his father were still alive, he would have been secretly glad that Wakatoshi was no longer with his ex. The man had never said so out loud, but Wakatoshi used to have the feeling that his father didn't like his ex. Probably because, despite years of friendship, Wakatoshi's ex had never fully accepted him for who he was; there was always something about him that his ex thought needed to be changed. 

But he didn't think Satori was like that. When they were together, he felt an overwhelming amount of comfort, as though it was okay to fully be himself. And he found himself deeply wishing his father was still alive at that moment. Not only because he missed him terribly, but because he would have liked for him to meet Satori. The two would have gotten along well.

Wakatoshi left the bathroom and checked his phone. When he saw that it was half past three, he hurried to lay down on the couch and pulled his spare blanket over himself. He could just barely see Satori's sleeping silhouette, but the sight of the man resting there brought him an unexpected sense of peace; it was enough to pull him away from the memories that had made him unsettled. 

He thought about Satori's warm expressions, playful smile, and kind words as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	8. And There Was Snow

Satori woke up to more light shining in than he was used to. This was not surprising considering his own bedroom had heavy blackout curtains over the window.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked while sitting up slowly. Then he looked around the small room and remembered that he had slept at Wakatoshi's place. He smiled as he thought back on the evening that the two of them had spent together; it had been a very pleasant time. 

Meanwhile, Wakatoshi was fast asleep on the couch while curled up in a way that probably wasn't the most comfortable. Satori felt bad for taking over the man's bed, which had been very cozy and soft.

He scooted closer to the couch and wondered if he should wake Wakatoshi up. Then he reached into the pocket of the pajama bottoms he wore so that he could check his phone for the time, but the battery had died overnight. And there were no clocks around in the room, so he had no idea what time it actually was at that moment. 

It felt very early based on how tired he still was. But he had gone to bed so late that he would likely be tired no matter what time it was. After a moment, he looked at Wakatoshi and studied the man's face silently. 

Wakatoshi's features were very tender while he slept; there was even a hint of a smile on his lips. The sight made Satori's mouth curl into an appreciative grin. Wakatoshi's hair was kind of messy, but also looked very soft and smooth. It probably felt that way, too.

On impulse, Satori reached a hand out and gently ran his fingers through Wakatoshi's hair, which was even more silky than he had assumed it would be. But the light touch was enough to stir Wakatoshi into consciousness; Satori quickly withdrew his hand, realizing that the man must be a very light sleeper. 

Wakatoshi's eyes opened slowly. As he looked at Satori, the wide smile that crept over his lips was unguarded and gentle. It was enough to melt Satori's heart right then and there. 

"Did you rest well?" Wakatoshi asked; his voice was thick with sleep.

Satori nodded. "Yes, thanks. How about you?"

"I'm adequately rested considering the time frame I had for sleep," Wakatoshi said while sitting up as he let out a small yawn. 

Then Wakatoshi stretched his arms over his head, which made the blanket slip down. This made the man's bare chest and abs become exposed, and Satori's eyes were drawn to the sight. Wakatoshi was totally ripped, which was not surprising at all. He gave off the strong and silent type vibe; reality matched expectations and then some for strength. That explained how easily Wakatoshi had lifted and flipped him over the night before. 

Satori quickly pulled his gaze away because he didn't want to make Wakatoshi uncomfortable with his staring, then moved to fold up the blanket on the futon.

At the same time, Wakatoshi got up and folded the blanket he had slept under. He was seemingly unbothered about being in just his boxers in front of Satori.

Though he tried hard not to do so, Satori ended up sneaking a few more peeks at the man's muscular body. But he stopped himself each time he did it since he figured Wakatoshi wouldn't appreciate the intrusion of being stared at by someone he didn't know very well. He hoped Wakatoshi didn't notice his stolen glances or his reddened face.

To Satori's simultaneous relief and disappointment, Wakatoshi soon pulled pants and a shirt on before he cooked some breakfast for them in the small kitchen. Satori watched from where he sat on the floor by the coffee table. He was leaning his elbow on the flat surface and resting his chin on his hand. It was both amusing and charming to watch Wakatoshi utilize such a small space. 

The look Satori was giving Wakatoshi could be described as one of longing as well as appreciation. Part of him wanted to walk over and wrap his arms around Wakatoshi while he was cooking just to be closer to him; to feel their bodies pressed together again.

His mind kept wandering back to when Wakatoshi had flipped him onto the futon and pinned him down. He thought of the confident look on Wakatoshi's face as he demonstrated his self defense abilities; it was as if the man had every bit of confidence that he could fight off an entire street gang if it ever came down to it. And it had been kind of arousing to have Wakatoshi straddling his hips. But he really hoped that the man hadn't noticed that.

He remembered the feeling of Wakatoshi's hands holding his wrists down as he subconsciously wrapped his own fingers around his wrist, as if searching for the feeling that Wakatoshi's grasp had given him. Then he realized what he had done and moved his hands to the tops of his knees while he started blushing deeply; at this rate Wakatoshi was going to think that his face was naturally as red as his hair. 

That, or Wakatoshi was going to realize how attracted he was to him. 

He hoped not, though. As much as he thought Wakatoshi was cute, he really did not want to make the man uncomfortable. He could tell that Wakatoshi was a sincere and considerate guy, and felt it would be best to go slow. 

That is, if Wakatoshi even had any interest in him in that way. 

Satori couldn't help but feel doubtful. How happy he felt around Wakatoshi seemed like it was too good to be true. And he didn't even know whether Wakatoshi was looking to date anyone. Maybe he had felt comfortable being in boxers around him because he didn't think of him as a romantic option. If that was the case, they could just be friends; he would accept that. However, it would be difficult for him to think of Wakatoshi as only a friend until he knew for sure that the man wasn't interested. But he knew he had to start there for now.

Satori started to hum quietly and drum his fingers on his thighs to distract himself from his thoughts, which had been getting somewhat out of hand. But without anything else to keep him occupied, his focus repeatedly strayed back to watching Wakatoshi while he prepared their breakfast. He liked watching him cook, and he liked being around the man in general. It was going to be a lovely few months of working together to memorize their lines. 

When Wakatoshi brought the food to the table, Satori thanked him sincerely. It was a simple meal of scrambled eggs and sliced strawberries, but it seemed like the best meal that Satori had ever eaten. Although it was really the company that he was enjoying so thoroughly, more so than the food.

They ate quickly since they both had classes starting soon. Satori was very thankful that campus was only ten minutes away. It would be a brisk walk though, considering it had snowed overnight and he didn't have very warm clothes with him; at least not suitable for walking around outside. He had been dressed for the warmth of being inside a building or car.

As if he had the same thought, Wakatoshi glanced over at Satori. "Would you like to use some of my clothes to wear today?"

Satori hummed while looking down at the borrowed pajamas that he still wore. Since they were a little loose on him, he doubted that Wakatoshi's pants would fit him. "Maybe just a shirt and an extra jacket. I can wear my pants from yesterday."

Wakatoshi nodded. "Alright. You could keep using the jacket I let you wear last night."

When they finished eating, Satori moved to take the dishes to the sink. "I'll wash these as thanks for all your hospitality."

Wakatoshi gave a small grin and thanked Satori before he moved to get an extra shirt out. 

When Satori finished the dishes, he grabbed the shirt and his pants from the previous day and went to put them on in the bathroom. He wanted privacy to change since he didn't want to show off the scar on his stomach. It's origin story wasn't something he was ready to tell Wakatoshi about.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, it was with slight horror that he realized his hair looked like an absolute mess. He had slept on it when it was still slightly damp and now it was stuck up in every direction. Not in a stylish way, either. 

He groaned quietly. 

Wakatoshi had seen him looking like a hot mess, but at least the man had the kindness to not mention it. Takahiro and Issei teased him constantly for his wild morning hair, being the terrible roommates that they were. He was pretty sure they had a picture of him with messy bed hair taped to their picture wall, which was located in their bedroom. The pair had at least one embarrassing photo for everyone in the group on that wall, themselves included.

Satori got some water on his hands and tried to tame his hair back, but it didn't do much good; it still stuck out at weird angles. He bit at his lip as he looked at himself in the mirror and wished he had some styling products. Then he peeked his head out of the bathroom and looked at Wakatoshi.

"Do you have any hair gel, by chance?"

Wakatoshi nodded and came over to the bathroom, squeezing in behind Satori. There was barely enough room for the two of them to stand in there together, and Wakatoshi had to press his chest against Satori's back to reach the small cupboard above the sink. 

Satori's eyes widened at the contact as he leaned his hands on the edge of the sink in front of him, resisting the urge to lean back against Wakatoshi.

Just an instant later, Wakatoshi held a small bottle of hair gel towards Satori, who took hold of it. He also put his fingers over Wakatoshi's, and they each froze. Their eyes met in the mirror and they were both blushing as the silent moment dragged on.

It was Wakatoshi who finally moved his hand away and stepped out of the tiny room, clearing his throat slightly as he did so. 

Satori smiled to himself when he was alone in the bathroom again because he knew that it was official now; he had a serious crush on Wakatoshi and it was growing rapidly. And it seemed like a pretty good chance that Wakatoshi was attracted to him as well, based on the man's reaction just then. 

Once he managed to get his hair halfway decent, he and Wakatoshi left the small apartment and walked towards campus together. The snow from overnight had stuck well and was piled high along the edge of the sidewalk, almost reaching mid calf height. With an excited grin, Satori ran and jumped into a pile of snow; he sank down into it. He flipped over as he laughed merrily, but found that he was stuck in the snowbank. So he reached out towards Wakatoshi.

"Hey, can you pull me out?"

Wakatoshi nodded and took his hand, then gave a strong tug. 

Once he was upright again, Satori brushed the snow off his clothes and shivered. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that, my pants are kind of wet now." He looked up at Wakatoshi and saw that the man had his mouth twisted into a smile, like he was trying very hard not to laugh. 

Satori grinned mischievously. "Funny, is it? Maybe I should flip you into the snow since you got to flip me last night."

Wakatoshi let out a short chuckle. "You may try if you would like."

After dramatically punching into the air a few times to warm up, Satori leaned down and wrapped his arms around Wakatoshi's waist while trying to pull the man onto his shoulder so he could lift him. However, it didn't work. He braced his footing to try lifting from a different angle, but it made his feet slip. 

He ended up falling backwards into the snowbank, taking Wakatoshi down with him. They were pressed together in the snow with Wakatoshi laying over him. It felt like the night before, except much colder because of the snow. Satori waited for Wakatoshi to be the one to move, because personally he would be fine with staying there together as long as possible. 

Eventually, they untangled from each other and sat up in the snowy hole that their bodies had made, turning to look at each other as they did so.

Wakatoshi cracked a grin. "I don't think that counts."

Satori leaned his head back and had a fit of giggles. Wakatoshi started laughing as well, and the two of them sat like that together for a few minutes. Several people passed by and glanced at them; it must have been an amusing sight to see two grown men who were laughing uncontrollably while their clothes got wetter and wetter from the melting snow around them.

Finally, they stood up and made their way back onto the sidewalk. 

Satori looked down at himself and then over at Wakatoshi's clothes. They were both soaked from the melted snow. "Ah, sorry. Guess we got wetter than I thought we would."

Wakatoshi gave a small shrug. "We can go back to my apartment and change. I have more clothes you could borrow."

Satori grinned shyly. "Thanks. I feel like I'm making a lot of laundry for you "

"It's not a problem. That was enjoyable," Wakatoshi said as he started walking back towards his home. 

Satori walked along beside Wakatoshi, and soon the two of them were back at the small apartment. When they both had dry clothes on again, they set off once more towards the school. 

As they got close to the campus, Satori grinned and looked over at Wakatoshi. "Is it okay if I find you around lunch time so we can eat together?"

Wakatoshi nodded. "I always eat in the cafeteria around noon."

"Cool, I'll make sure to come around that time. My phone is dead, so I'll have to find you the old fashioned way," Satori replied happily.

"What's the old fashioned way?" Wakatoshi asked with a raised eyebrow.

Satori giggled. "Walking around until I find you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had art done for this chapter because Yna is an amazing artist and I needed to see this scene!  
> [Here is the art link.](https://spacejammie-eimmajecaps.tumblr.com/post/640310311637909505/this-is-the-art-i-bought-myself-for-my-birthday)
> 
> [Here is the link to the artist.](https://twitter.com/yna_arts?s=09)


	9. Acquaintances Or Friends?

When the two men reached campus, they split up and went in opposite directions to head to their respective classes.

Satori had left with the promise of finding him at lunch, which made Wakatoshi feel excited and full of anticipation. Eating lunch together was a good start for solidifying their status as friends. And once they were good friends, Wakatoshi figured they might be able to move on to being something more. But he wasn't even allowing himself to think that far ahead yet; he had to take it one step at a time. 

Tetsurou, Koutarou, and Keiji were in Wakatoshi’s first class. Kenma was there as well. But Wakatoshi hadn't met Kenma yet, so he didn't know the man's name. When it came down to it, he couldn't actually remember any of their names since he had not yet asked Satori to write them out for him. Because of this, he didn't move to greet Tetsurou and the others at first. 

But Koutarou waved at him, as did Tetsurou; both men seemed genuinely happy to see him. In that same moment, Keiji nodded in greeting while Kenma looked over curiously and slightly tilted his head. So, as social custom dictated, Wakatoshi nodded at them before he went to his seat in the back of the room. He didn't think he knew them well enough to sit with them. That was a friend thing, and Wakatoshi thought they were only acquaintances at this point.

The four men seemed to feel differently though, because all of them immediately got up and moved to sit near him. Tetsurou and Koutarou sat on either side of Wakatoshi. Then Kenma took the seat beside Tetsurou and Keiji took the seat next to Koutarou.

"Hey, man! Let's all sit together since we're drama club buddies now!" Koutarou said with a booming voice and a friendly smile.

"Yeah, you're gonna see a lot of us from now on," Tetsurou said with a smirk. Then he gestured at Kenma. "This is my boyfriend, Kenma. You didn't get to meet him last night."

Wakatoshi nodded politely at Kenma. "Nice to meet you."

Kenma nodded back and replied with a quiet, "likewise."

There was a short moment where they all sat quietly as they looked at each other. Wakatoshi wasn’t sure what he should say, if anything. He wasn't great at small talk in a group setting. 

Reading the need for something to fill the silence, Keiji gave a slight smile as he pointed back and forth between Koutarou and Tetsurou. "I have to apologize in advance because these two can be very distracting during class."

Koutarou and Tetsurou both scoffed at the accusation while Kenma nodded his head in agreement. 

Wakatoshi gave a small grin as he looked around at the men. There seemed to be such an easiness in the way the four friends interacted. A level of familiarity and comfort that Wakatoshi had never experienced within a group. In elementary school, he was always with his former best friend/ex; they were often one on one. As they got older, they drifted in and out of different friend groups. But Wakatoshi had never felt comfortable in any of them. 

He almost felt envious as he witnessed the bonds of his new friends; they were so happy and carefree. And he didn’t yet feel that he was really and truly part of the group, but he definitely felt more at ease with Satori’s friends than he had with any of the temporary groups he interacted with while growing up. There seemed to be a sense of genuine enjoyment and acceptance within these friends; no one seemed like they had to hide part of themselves or change to be included.

Wakatoshi didn’t quite feel comfortable enough with the four men to be as open and friendly as he had been with Satori, but he was hopeful that he'd reach that comfort level after spending more time with them.

While Tetsurou and Kotarou went off on a tangent about something theatre related, Kenma was studying Wakatoshi closely with an intense expression; it was not that different from how Yuu and Shouyou tended to look when focusing. It was as though Kenma’s eyes might see into someone's mind with the right amount of effort and concentration.

Wakatoshi shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the stare; it was so heavy and serious. Although for some reason it did not feel quite as intrusive as Yuu and Shouyou's usually did. And he couldn't immediately pinpoint why that was. 

When no longer distracted by Koutarou’s opinions on which outfits would be better with which lighting, Tetsurou seemed to notice Wakatoshi's discomfort. So he elbowed Kenma playfully. "Stop analyzing our new friend. You're weirding him out."

After a short huff, Kenma squinted at Tetsurou while he replied. "I wasn't analyzing him, don't make me sound creepy." Then he looked back at Wakatoshi. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Wakatoshi spoke flatly. "It's fine. You just remind me of some people that I work with."

Tetsurou tilted his head and smiled. "Oh, I bet one of them is Tobio's boyfriend. He's an orange haired guy named Shouyou. Tobio's one of our first years in the theatre department. Anyway, Shouyou's really good friends with Kenma, and they both get this super intense staring thing going when they're focused."

Wakatoshi hummed thoughtfully. He hadn't realized that Shouyou had a boyfriend. Of course, he had made it a point not to socialize that much with Shouyou and Yuu since their personalities felt too prickly for him. Somehow, though, Kenma didn't make him bristle in the same way; the intensity of the man's gaze burned differently. It didn't feel like a challenge, like Yuu and Shouyou's did; rather, it felt like a data gathering mission. 

And Wakatoshi felt he could respect that, as he too liked to be analytical. He thought that he’d enjoy a sparring match with Kenma if the man happened to know any martial arts. Opponents who give thought and strategy to a fight were always more satisfying to beat.

"So… you and Satori got along pretty well, huh?"

Koutarou's voice brought Wakatoshi back from the tangent of thought he'd gone off on. And he had spoken while leaning over into Wakatoshi's personal space.

So Wakatoshi stiffened and leaned back. He didn't generally like people being so close to him, especially people that he barely knew. It felt too intrusive and intimate. Though it had been different when it had been Satori who was close to him. He liked being close to Satori, and he wanted to be close to him again. But that wasn't a thought he needed to have on his mind right then, so he tucked it away in the back of his mind. 

Thankfully, Keiji noticed Wakatoshi's discomfort and pulled Koutarou back by his shoulder. "Personal space bubble, Kou."

"Right, sorry!" Koutarou said sheepishly. He then looked at Wakatoshi sincerely. "If I'm ever too close, just shove me away. For real. I get too excited sometimes and forget myself a bit."

Tetsurou nodded and gave Wakatoshi a friendly grin as he stood up and moved to stand behind Koutarou. Then he started ruffling Koutarou’s black and white hair with his knuckles. "Yeah, that's what I do. Just give him a good roughing up. Hell, punch him in the face if you have to."

"Hey! No punches!" Koutarou complained with a laugh while he automatically reached to swat at Tetsurou. 

However, Tetsurou dodged. He grinned impishly as he started to squeeze and squish Kaoutarou’s cheeks. Then they were both giggling as they grabbed at each other's faces to see who could make the other look more ridiculous.

Wakatoshi frowned slightly; he didn't like being intentionally violent towards people unless it was absolutely necessary. And even in those cases, he didn't enjoy it. The only exception was when he sparred with his martial arts classmates. He considered that to be nothing more than sharpening a skill with a consenting participant. 

With that train of thought going, Wakatoshi spoke up solemnly; his words were directed at Koutarou. "I have no desire to punch you."

"Well, that's a relief!" Koutaro said with a cheeky smile, but then Tetsurou went and pinched his nose tightly and wiggled his head around by it.

Koutarou laughed as he reached up to punch Tetsurou’s arm with just enough force to be painful.

Wakatoshi was glad that the teacher hadn’t started the lecture yet, or else this level of noise would have been embarrassing. In fact, it was a little embarrassing anyway since their little group was getting annoyed looks from other classmates. He frowned slightly at their antics, but decided it wasn't a big enough deal to be worth getting upset over. 

Keiji seemed to notice Wakatoshi's slight discomfort and gave a small reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you'll get used to them. They goof around like that all the time."

Wakatoshi nodded and then stifled a yawn. Under four hours of sleep really wasn't enough to get him through the day. He wished he could have a nap; even just a short one. Any other day, he might have just gone home during the two hour break from classes that he had around lunchtime so that he could catch some sleep. But he was meeting Satori at lunch today, so he couldn’t make a nap happen. 

At that moment, Keiji seemed to examine Wakatoshi more closely. "You seem tired. How late did you and Satori end up staying to run lines last night?"

With a hum, Wakatoshi thought about it. "I believe we left around one. He went to sleep around two while I went to sleep after three."

Tetsurou had just returned to his seat beside Wakatoshi, and he gave a crooked smile. "You make it sound like you two slept at the same place last night."

Wakatoshi spoke plainly. "Satori's roommates left him behind, so I offered to let him sleep at my place since it's close to campus."

Koutarou and Tetsurou leaned back to grin at each other behind Wakatoshi’s chair. They were about to speak, and it most certainly would have been playful teasing. But Keiji pinched Koutarou's thigh while Kenma did the same thing to Tetsurou. They had no intention of letting their respective boyfriends make Wakatoshi uncomfortable. 

Luckily, both Tetsurou and Koutarou understood the silent message.

Keiji then leaned around Koutarou to give Wakatoshi an appreciative look. "We're grateful that you helped Satori out. He doesn't like walking at night." 

Wakatoshi remembered how flighty Satori had been as he replied. "He mentioned that."

Koutarou raised his eyebrows and gave a surprised gasp. "Really? He told you about the time he got mugged?"

Wakatoshi frowned as Koutarou's words sunk in. If Satori had gotten mugged in the past, that would certainly explain why the man was so nervous to walk around at night. He found himself even more glad for having offered to let Satori stay the night with him in consideration of that information.

Koutarou and the others looked like they were waiting for a reply, so Wakatoshi responded with a simple answer. "He didn't mention having been mugged."

With a slight cringe, Koutarou slapped his hands over his mouth. He had unintentionally given away a secret that wasn't his to tell. And Satori would certainly be unhappy about it when he found out.

Tetsurou gave Koutarou a reprimanding stare before turning to look at Wakatoshi. "Well, please forget that this big oaf said anything about it, then. Satori's really sensitive about what happened. Just wait for him to tell you himself. I’m sure he will, eventually."

Wakatoshi nodded silently in response.

Then he thought back to the night before when Satori had been so jumpy and nervous. It would've been awful for him to have had to walk through town at night by himself since there was a traumatic reason for his discomfort. Wakatoshi made a silent promise to make sure Satori never had to walk alone at night again.

He gave it even more thought and wondered if Satori would want to learn some self defense moves. He decided that he might offer at some point. However, he wasn't sure if he could avoid mentioning that he knew about Satori's incident while doing so. And he hated the thought of keeping that a secret; it reminded him of his ex and all the lies that the man had told. 

When the teacher called the class to attention, the group of men turned their focus to the front. 

As the lecture started, Wakatoshi's mind kept floating back to Satori; his smile, his laugh, how adorable his hair had looked when he first woke up that morning. There were so many little things about Satori that were charming in their own way.

His focus was then split even further because, as Keiji had warned, Tetsurou and Koutarou were a bit of a distraction. The two men giggled occasionally over drawings and notes that they passed to each other over Wakatoshi’s desk. Yet somehow they were also keeping up with taking notes on the lecture. It was multitasking at its finest.

Wakatoshi almost felt like he was in high school again, but he didn't mind the noise and note passing as much now as he had back then. After all, these were his friends now; he could spare some patience for their slightly childish behavior. Overall, he thought that the four men had the potential to become his good friends once they all got to know each other better.


	10. Curious Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Satori's first class, which happened at the same time as Wakatoshi's first class.

When Satori walked into his first class, he angrily marched over to Issei and Takahiro. They glanced up at him in surprise as he crossed his arms and glared.

"Thanks for ditching me last night, jerks!"

Issei had the decency to give an apologetic look as he scratched at the back of his head. "I thought you'd call for a cab or something, but you never came home. Did you sleep on campus?"

Satori blushed slightly and shook his head. "No, I found somewhere else to sleep."

At that point, Takahiro looked Satori up and down. His expression changed from slightly regretful to absolutely pleased. "Those clothes are loose on you and I've never seen you wear them before. So I must conclude that they don't belong to you!"

Issei jumped on board with the teasing immediately as he cracked a wide grin. "Wow. I wonder who owns them."

Since he didn't intend to answer them as payback for ditching him, Satori just stared at his friends with his mouth set firmly. 

After a long pause, Takahiro grinned and continued his inquiry. "A certain tall, dark haired man? That maybe works as a waiter? This ringin' a bell?"

Tendou rolled his eyes at his friends as he gave in to telling them about it. "Fine. They belong to Wakatoshi. I stayed at his place last night."

Takahiro smiled wryly while leaning as far forward over his desk as he could. "So you're wearing his clothes, and you stayed at his place?"

Issei chuckled and put both his hands behind his head leisurely. "I hope you two kids were responsible."

With a huff, Satori sat down in an empty chair next to Issei. "It's not like that. He was just helping me out."

"In _what ways_ did he help you out, exactly?" Takahiro asked with a playful smirk as he leaned his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his hands.

"Nothing happened. We're just friends," Satori said defensively. But he could feel the heat on his face from his growing blush. 

"Mhm, believable," Issei said with a laugh.

It was always like this when it came to these two. They were a teasing tag team. Satori had been planning on asking them for some paper and a pencil to borrow since he didn't have his backpack with him. But he decided to wait for Tooru to get there; the man always had extra sets of everything school related.

In the very next moment, as if summoned by Satori's school supply needs, Tooru came rushing into class. It was right as the teacher was about to start. 

"Shit, just in time!" Tooru said as he slid into the seat next to Satori. He had bags under his eyes from too late a night and much too early a wake up. He had a ton of classes packed into every day, not to mention all his responsibilities in the theatre department. He was an overachiever to his core. 

Satori looked at Tooru as the man pulled out a notebook. "Do you have extra paper and a pencil I could use?"

"Not very prepared today, are we?" Tooru asked as he dug through his large backpack and pulled out paper and a pencil. He handed them to Satori, and his hands shook obviously as he did so. 

"How much coffee have you had today?" Satori asked in a voice that was slightly concerned. 

Tooru rubbed his forehead as he thought about the question. "I don't know, maybe three or four cups?"

"That's too much, Tooru. it's not even 9am yet," Takahiro chimed in from where he sat.

"You sound like my mom or something," Tooru said with exasperation while waving his trembling hand dismissively. 

Takahiro leaned across Issei and Satori's desks to whisper at Tooru, so as not to upset the professor who was now lecturing the class. "Now that's a high compliment, because your mom's a lovely woman. As for you, you're going to burn out if you keep this up, you stubborn star."

Tooru gave an unbothered hum in response as he started to take notes. It was a wonder he was able to write clearly with how jittery he was. As all his friends knew, he took his grades very seriously; if he wasn't at the top of every class, he ended up incredibly disappointed. So much so that he had a bit of mental breakdown the year before from taking on way too much. 

That was a big part of why Koushi had tried to keep Tooru from taking the lead role, despite how much the silver haired man had tried to play it off as just trying to make a romantic situation happen for Satori. And Tooru knew that; it was part of why he was bitter about not getting the role. He hated people doubting his abilities because he preferred the opportunity to prove himself.

Satori turned his focus back to the lecture. He was glad this was their last year old college, for Tooru's sake as well as his own. He was ready to move on to new things. But he would definitely miss the stage plays and theatre department. And he hoped Wakatoshi would do well memorizing lines so that Tooru would see that he didn't need to worry as much about being the understudy. Not that it would keep Tooru from memorizing the lines perfectly anyway; he took being an understudy as seriously as he would have taken the lead role itself.

Satori only half listened to the lecture his professor gave. His mind kept wandering back to the evening before, and how it had turned out so much better than he would have thought. He was still feeling very grateful that Wakatoshi had invited him home and saved him from having to face a long, scary walk. Issei and Takahiro should have figured he didn't have money for a taxi considering how they all had the same scholarship funds. Although the two of them shared a bedroom, so they probably had more spending money than he did. 

He wondered if Wakatoshi was thinking about him as well. The thought of that made him smile as a light blush crept over his face, and he ended up doodling instead of taking notes. 

Tooru somehow noticed this, which was evident when he leaning over to whisper to Satori. "You're unprepared today as well as distracted. If something happened, you better tell me about it later."

Satori shot a playful wink at his friend, then sat up straight and tried to focus his attention back on the professor and the slide show being given. 

When the lecture was over, they all split up to go to their next class. Tooru had to run for it because his classes were back to back and spread around campus. Issei didn't have any other classes; he only took one. So he left to go work on a job site with Hajime and Daichi. 

That left Satori and Takahiro, who were able to walk together for a few minutes since their classes were in the same direction. 

Takahiro looked at Tendou with a guilty expression as he cleared his throat. "Listen... I’m sorry about leaving you last night. In retrospect, that was a dick move. I thought I'd be doing you a favor by giving you an excuse to be with Wakatoshi for longer. I didn't think it through."

Satori glanced at his friend. "I was pretty mad at first, but I'm actually glad about how it worked out. So don't worry about it."

Takahiro narrowed his eyes playfully. "You guys really didn't do anything?"

With a shake of his head, Satori responded while blushing. "We just hung out, and it was really fun. I'm pretty sure he likes me."

Takahiro patted Satori's shoulder while teasing him. "As you two get to know each other better, he won't be able to help falling for you. You're such a cute little cherry boy."

Satori laughed and gently shoved Takahiro before they split up to head to their own classes. The chill in the air was still present, and the snow looked beautiful piled around the campus. As he walked along, he snuggled himself into Wakatoshi's jacket, which was warm and cozy. It was a different jacket from last night since they had to change after rolling around in the snowbank that morning. But it smelled just as good as the other one had.

Koushi met Satori at the door of the class they shared while giving a wide grin. "Makki told me you slept over at a certain man's apartment last night!"

Satori sighed; of course Takahiri would have texted Koushi to gossip about it. He just loved being the one to drop big news on the group. 

"As friends, yes. Nothing more. At least not yet," Satori said as he pulled at his hair and twisted a strand between his fingers.

"Oh, but you have plans for more, do you?" Koushi said mischievously as he followed Satori into the classroom so they could take their seats. 

Satori shrugged while trying to stay casual. "That's what you wanted, right? But yes, I do like him. And I want to get to know him better."

Koushi nodded with approval. "Good, very good. And you'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know him. I'll leave it to you and him to plan times when you can run lines together. But I do need him at the first read through with the whole cast so Tetsurou can double check the script flow. That will be on Saturday. Can you let him know?"

Satori replied with an excited grin. "I'm meeting him for lunch, so I'll tell him then."

After a dramatic inhale, Koushi grabbed Satori's arm. "You're meeting him for lunch?! Aw, yay! I love it!"

Satori rolled his eyes. "Just at the cafeteria."

"Dates don't have to be fancy to be special, you know," Koushi said as if imparting wisdom.

Satori blushed. "It's not a date."

Just then, Kenma came shuffling into the classroom and took a seat next to Koushi while greeting his friends with a nod.

Suga looked at Kenma with his best pleading look. "Hey, my very-very-very good friend."

With a weary glance towards Koushi, Kenma replied in a stale voice. "What do you want?"

"I'm wanting to add some more supplies to the set budget, and Koutarou wants more in his fabric budget. I'm hoping our biggest sponsor might be willing to flex a bit of extra funding our way?" Koushi smiled hopefully while batting his eyelashes.

Kenma hummed thoughtfully. "You're really going all out for this show. Is it because we're all graduating this year?"

Koishi clapped his hands together quietly while whisper yelling. "Exactly! I want us to go out with a bang! So, are you willing?"

After a brief pause, Kenma shrugged. "I guess so. But you better make this show the best one yet."

Koushi nodded his head dramatically. "I'll do my best to make you proud!"

Satori looked between his two friends while thinking about all the things they needed to make happen over the next few months; a lot of work went into a stage play. "Will you need extra help with the set building? Maybe we could ask Wakatoshi to help out a bit, depending on his schedule."

With a sly smile, Koushi drummed his fingers against each other. "Daichi could teach him some basic construction stuff. Do you think he can handle it? It can be labor intensive."

Satori thought back to the glimpses of Wakatoshi's muscular body that he had gotten that morning. The man was very strong, so he could help with lifting stuff, at least. A flat and confident smile spread over Satori's lips. "I bet he can do it."

  
  
  
  



	11. Lunch And A Nap

Satori managed to find Wakatoshi right away at lunch time. The man was standing in the middle of a line of students who were all waiting to pay for their food.

Satori walked up to Wakatoshi with a shy smile and gently pulled at the sleeve of his jacket to get his attention. “Hey, save me a place in line?”

Wakatoshi looked at him with a small grin and a nod.

Once he had chosen a cheap premade sandwich, Satori went back to Wakatoshi and stood next to him in line. They glanced at each other while they both blushed slightly. Satori couldn't get the idea of it being a date out of his mind; not since Koushi had suggested that it was. But he knew that wasn’t actually the case. This was just two friends eating lunch together. He shouldn’t get all overly excited about a simple thing like that. And besides, he was glad to be spending more time with Wakatoshi no matter what they were doing or what it was labeled as.

After paying for their lunches, the two men made their way to an empty table. But they couldn't find one. The cafeteria was crowded due to the snow; the outdoor seating area was too wet and cold for use. So they sat at the far end of a table that was already occupied by a few people. Satori took the seat right next to Wakatoshi, rather than across. That way they could eat without having to stare at each other awkwardly. Or rather, because Satori felt like he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from blushing if he were to be facing Wakatoshi.

"So, Koushi wants you to come to a full cast read through this Saturday. Do you think you can make it?" Satori asked as he bounced one leg slightly and glanced over at Wakatoshi, who was eating hot soup. 

After a moment, Wakatoshi looked at Satori and replied. "I don't work on Saturdays. I should be free all day if I can manage to finish my homework before then.”

Satori happily wiggled his legs underneath the table. "Cool! Oh, do you think you'd be able to help a bit with building the set in the morning on Saturday? The read through will be right after we have lunch with the rest of the cast."

Wakatoshi rested his hands on the table while thinking the question over. "I believe I could be helpful with building."

Excitement bubbled up in Satori. "Everyone will be happy to see you again, I bet.”

Wakatoshi glanced at Satori with an apologetic look. “Would you write everyone’s names down for me at some point? I have trouble remembering names when I meet new people, but seeing them written makes it easier.”

“Sure, I could do that,” Satori said as he gave a playful smile. “You remember my name though, right?”

“Of course, it was easy to remember yours. You’re Satori,” Wakatoshi replied solemnly before he went to eat more of his steaming soup.

Something about the way Wakatoshi had said that made Satori feel like he was kind of special. He felt himself blush and hurried to take a bite of his sandwich so he had something to focus on. Then thought of something he wanted to ask, so he quickly finished chewing and cleared his throat. "What are you going to college for?"

"I'm getting a business degree,” Wakatoshi replied. “I used to work in construction and I’d like to own my own company someday.”

Satori felt like there was a deep sense of pride in Wakatoshi’s voice beneath the calm. Being a construction worker seemed to be a very fitting job for the man. He wondered if Wakatoshi would get along well with Daichi and Hajime; they could all talk about construction things and bond over that. It made Satori happy to think that Wakatoshi would fit easily into his group of friends.

"Daichi and Hajime both do construction. Daichi is Koushi’s boyfriend, and Hajime is Tooru’s boyfriend. You’ll meet them on Saturday because they help with the sets in their spare time. Mattsun also does construction work, but he spends a lot of his time designing the sets. I bet you four would get along well."

Wakatoshi hummed. "I look forward to working with them. What degree are you getting?”

“Digital art as well as art studies,” Satori replied. “I really like getting to be creative. I want to freelance as a digital artist once I graduate.”

“I would enjoy seeing some of your artwork,” Wakatoshi said after a pause.

Satori grinned as he shuffled his feet around underneath the table. “I could bring my tablet to school and show you some of my art tomorrow. Do you want to eat together again?”

“I would enjoy having lunch with you tomorrow,” Wakatoshi said. He had just finished eating his food and was relaxing an arm on the table while he looked at Satori.

Within a minute, Satori finished up the rest of his sandwich. He thought it was really nice getting to spend time with Wakatoshi while they didn’t have to worry about memorizing lines. But they did need to find time for that, too.

"Will you be able to come to the theatre tonight and hang out?" Satori asked hopefully.

Wakatoshi shook his head. "Not tonight. I have a late shift at the restaurant."

That was disappointing, but expected. Satori knew Wakatoshi had his job to worry about. It would be hard memorizing lines if it was only going to be one day a week, assuming Wakatoshi could keep his Saturday’s open. But he was determined to make it work. "What time can you come on Saturday?"

Wakatoshi moved to clean up both of their plates and trash. "As early as you would like."

"Alright, cool. I think Koushi and the others you’ve met will be there all day. The rest of the cast members won't come until we have lunch. We actually have a pretty small cast this year. Which is a bummer because the guys and I are all graduating after this. So it's our final chance to put on a good show."

"I'm graduating this year as well," Wakatoshi said as the two of them walked towards the dish station to drop off the plates and trash. "I didn't realize it was such an important show for you."

Satori thought Wakatoshi looked a little nervous, so he gave him a playful nudge with his arm. "You'll be amazing, I know it."

The look Wakatoshi gave him in return was almost tender. "I'm confident that you will do very well, also."

Satori felt himself blush as they stared at each other for a moment. The buzz of the voices filling the cafeteria faded away momentarily as he locked eyes with Wakatoshi. A nervous smile spread across his lips, and Wakatoshi's eyes dropped down to look at his mouth. It seemed like that happened a lot, and he wondered if Wakatoshi was thinking about kissing him.

Finally, Satori went to check his phone to see what time it was, but it was still as dead as it had been that morning. He forgot to ask Tooru for a charger; the man almost always had one with him. “Hey, what time is it?”

Wakatoshi pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time, stifling a yawn as he did so. “Half past twelve.”

Seeing a yawn made Satori yawn as well. “We sure stayed up way too late, huh? I’m exhausted. But I have almost two hours until my next class, so do you want to hang out until your next one starts?”

Wakatoshi nodded. “I have an hour and a half until my next class. We could go nap at my apartment, if you would like.”

A nap sounded absolutely amazing, so Satori immediately agreed. “That would actually be so awesome!”

They left the cafeteria and walked together to Wakatoshi’s apartment, and Satori resisted the urge to jump in any snow piles this time. He didn’t want to use up Wakatoshi’s entire wardrobe. But he did allow himself to soak in the sight of the snow on the trees and buildings around him; it always gave him a happy feeling to do that when it had recently snowed. He liked the way it blanketed over everything and made the world seem so different.

When they reached the apartment, Satori insisted on using the couch so that Wakatoshi could have his own bed. After borrowing a charger so he could revive his phone, he curled up on the couch. Wakatoshi put a blanket over him, and he quickly fell asleep. It ended up being the most refreshing nap he had ever taken. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will jump ahead to Friday in the next chapter.


	12. The Past Comes Calling

Wakatoshi ended up eating lunch with Satori at school every day that week, and it was something he really enjoyed. 

Satori was surprisingly easy to be around. Wakatoshi couldn’t quite understand why it was, but they just seemed to click with each other. Part of it was likely because Satori talked so much and was willing to hold up the conversation when Wakatoshi couldn't think of anything to say. He liked that about Satori. And he also liked that when the silent moments came and lingered, they didn't feel awkward. They felt natural and acceptable; he could rest in the silence, rather than feeling the need to escape it.

His ex boyfriend had always been frustrated with him when he couldn't keep up with a conversation, or if he didn’t have anything to add. Wakatoshi kept comparing Satari against his ex and finding all the ways that Satori was so much better for him to be in a relationship with. Of course, it seemed early for those types of thoughts. Satori was still just his friend.

Despite that they had only known each other for just under a week, Satori was already the person that Wakatoshi felt most comfortable around. He hadn’t laughed as much as he had in the past week for a long time; maybe even since his father had died two years ago. It had been hard to recover from that loss, and for a while he thought his laughter had died with his father. But Satori seemed to bring it back to life.

It was currently Friday night and Wakatoshi was finishing up his shift at the restaurant. He had agreed to help Akira sweep and wipe down the dining area. It was a mindless task, and it allowed him to daydream a bit. So he thought about his lines in the script. He had been spending some time each night working on memorizing them and already felt he had quite a few of them down. He had always had a very good memory for things he read. His father used to tell him his photographic memory was a very valuable thing.

He had been going back to his apartment with Satori the last few days after lunch, and they had been reading through lines together. Most days of the week they each had around two or three hours between classes, starting around noon. So they were making it work in their favor and getting the most of that time.

Overall, knowing the lines would not be difficult. The hardest part of Wakatoshi's role might just be the dancing scene that was right around the middle of the play; he had a terrible sense of rhythm. He wondered if Satori was a good dancer. If so, maybe he would offer to teach some self defense moves in exchange for dance lessons. 

He hadn't yet mentioned that he knew about the mugging, partially because nothing about the topic had come up in conversation. And he felt he would definitely have to admit to already knowing if Satori ever brought it up. But after thinking it through, he decided to follow Tetsurou’s advice and not bring it up until Satori did.

His thoughts were interrupted by Yuu and Shouyou running out of the kitchen, yelling as they went. The two were having a race around the restaurant. It looked like Shouyou was winning, and both men were laughing loudly.

Asahi came scurrying out after them. "Stop, you guys! You're going to slip and get hurt!"

Yuu turned around and ran towards Asahi, then jumped into the man's arms. "Catch me, babe!"

While Asahi caught Yuu and somehow managed not to fall over, Shouyou ran up to Wakatoshi. "Hey! I heard from my boyfriend that you're gonna be in a play!!"

Wakatoshi looked at Shouyou with a slight frown. He didn't really like being a topic for the man to discuss in his personal life. They were still getting to know each other, and Wakatoshi thought they were probably still closer to acquaintances than friends at that point.

Before Wakatoshi could reply with anything, Shouyou bounced on his heels and spoke again. "Tobio Kageyama is my boyfriend, by the way. He's part of the theatre department at your school, but maybe you haven't met him yet. He said you stole the lead role from Tooru. That's pretty impressive!" 

If Wakatoshi had realized he was supposedly stealing a role from Tooru, he might have been more insistent about turning it down. He hoped that the man wasn't going to hold it against him. When he thought back on it, Tooru had seemed a little cold towards him at first. He decided to ask Satori about it later and see if he should apologize.

Shoyou went on talking at a fast rate. "Well, I'll see you at the cast lunch tomorrow because Tobio said he can bring me along. I really look forward to seeing you act, you know! I bet you're super intense and overwhelming, huh?"

"I don't think that those are the right descriptions for my role in the play," Wakatoshi replied flatly as he stepped around Shouyou to finish wiping down the last table. 

Yuu called out to Shouyou from the entrance to the kitchen. "Let's finish cleaning out the dish station so we can get out of here! Asahi and Yuutarou have already finished their side work!"

Shouyou waved a goodbye to Wakatoshi and then ran towards the kitchen with a sudden burst of speed. Wakatoshi found the short man very impressive for that reason; he had never seen someone so quick on their feet. He wondered if Shouyou would want to run with him, mostly because he wanted to see if he would win in a race with the man.

Akira came over to Wakatoshi as he was finishing the cleaning. "Hey, thanks for helping clean my section. And I overheard Shouyou, as did half the world probably. I swear, he has no volume control. Anyway, did I hear him right? You're going to be in a play? That's kind of surprising. Didn't think you were the drama club type."

"I wouldn't say I'm that type. But Satori enjoys it, and I'm finding it interesting as well," Wakatoshi replied evenly. 

"Satori?" 

Akira didn't know about Satori yet. And Wakatoshi wasn't that motivated to talk about it because it felt too personal for a work conversation. Although, of everyone at his job, it would be Asahi and Akira that he would be most comfortable with for that topic. In light of that, he decided to tell Akira a little bit about what happened.

"Satori is the redhead from last weekend."

Akira's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No way! So you ended up seeing him again, after all?"

Wakatoshi nodded. "Yes. He and his friends wanted me to act in a play at my school. As the love interest for Satori's character. After some initial hesitation, I accepted."

Akira sat down heavily in a chair like he was too shocked to stand. "Wow. Wow, wow, wow! I'm amazed!"

"That's apparent," Wakatoshi replied dryly. 

"The love interest, you said? So, do you get to kiss him a bunch?" Akira asked as he flashed a devious smile. 

Wakatoshi's heart suddenly started racing. He had forgotten about the kiss until then, or perhaps had been actively avoiding thinking about it. "I believe there's just one kiss written into the manuscript."

Akira jumped back up to stand and then reached a hand up for a high five. "Nice!"

Wakatoshi reluctantly returned the high five. "It's just pretend."

Yuutarou walked up just then and overheard Wakatoshi's words. "What's pretend?"

Akira turned to his boyfriend and smiled proudly. "Wakatoshi's going to kiss a cute guy in a stage play!"

Yuutarou raised his eyebrows. "A stage play? I didn't know you were an actor, Wakatoshi."

"I normally don't act," Wakatoshi replied in a somewhat flat voice. 

Akira clapped his hands a few times to bring the other two's focus back to himself. "That's not important! He's kissing the cute redhead that was in here last weekend!"

Yuutarou grinned, then put his fist out for a fist bump. "That's pretty cool, man.”

Wakatoshi bumped Yuutarou's fist with his own while frowning slightly. The upcoming kiss made him nervous, but he was trying to deal with that by convincing himself that it was just part of the play; just acting, nothing more.

"It's not a big deal."

Akira gave a playful wink. "Seems like a pretty big deal."

Wakatoshi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, so he excused himself; he was thankful for a reason to leave the conversation. He checked the caller ID before answering and saw that it was Satori. 

"Hello?"

Satori's cheerful voice came over the phone. "Hey! Sorry, just realized you're probably still at work. I called to see if you wanted me to come meet you at your place tomorrow morning so we can walk to campus together."

Wakatoshi smiled slightly. He was glad to hear Satori's voice. "Yes, that would be fine. What time?"

"I guess I could have just texted you about this, huh? Sorry. Uhm, maybe at nine?"

"It's fine, I like talking to you. Nine sounds reasonable."

There was a short pause before Satori replied, and his voice sounded a little higher. "O-okay! Great! I'll see you at nine, then. Bye!"

"Goodbye," Wakatoshi said before he hung up. 

As he clocked out and went to leave through the employee door in the back of the kitchen, he was trying to hold back a wide smile. He really looked forward to seeing Satori in the morning. He probably would be excited about it all evening and would have to take an extra long run to calm himself down enough to sleep.

But when he saw a familiar figure standing out in the parking lot, leaning against a car he would recognize anywhere, his stomach sank. The vehicle was nice; it was red and sporty. The man leaning against it was not nice, and Wakatoshi was not happy to see him. 

If Tooru and Hajime had been there, they would have recognized the man as Blue Hair; the rude stranger that had followed Tooru into the bathroom after a play several months previous. 

But to Wakatoshi, that was his ex; he refused to acknowledge Blue Hair by his name or by willingly interacting with him. 

He didn't know how Blue Hair had found him at work again. Over his last three jobs, his ex would eventually show up and try to talk to him. Each time, the man got so persistent that Wakatoshi would quit and find another job. He was thankful that Blue Hair had not managed to find out where he lived, because he really didn't want to deal with moving.

Blue Hair had not seen him yet, so he turned around and quickly walked back into the restaurant. All the rest of his coworkers were just inside the door about to leave. Wakatoshi almost ran right into Shouyou and Yuu, and barely managed to stop himself in time.

Asahi seemed to notice that Wakatoshi was unsettled, as did Akira and Yuutarou. The three of them gave Wakatoshi matching looks of concern. 

"You okay?" Asahi asked. 

"There's someone out there waiting for me. I don't want to see him and I don't know how he found me here," Wakatoshi replied quietly while avoiding looking at his coworkers directly.

Shouyou and Yuu both looked angry on his behalf. 

"A stalker, huh? Well, we can help you deal with him," Yuu said confidently.

Yuutarou pulled out his keys and detached a tiny bottle of pepper spray that had been dangling from the keyring. “Want me to spray his face with this?”

Shouyou tried to sneak around Wakatoshi. "Want me to go scare him off? I pack a mean punch."

Wakatoshi felt moved by them all wanting to help him, but he didn’t want to inconvenience them. "I don't think that would be wise, Shouyou. He would defeat you easily in a contest of strength," he replied while grabbing Shouyou's shoulder to hold him back.

"Doubt he could deal with all of us, though," Akira said sassily as he pushed Wakatoshi out of the doorway so he and the others could pass through. 

Asahi initially stayed back while the other four men marched out to the parking lot to confront Blue Hair. "I probably should go out there, too. They're not good at calming a tense situation."

"I should go as well. It wouldn't be fair to rely on others to deal with my problems," Wakatoshi said as he moved to walk out of the employee door. 

Asahi went out along with him and replied in a kind voice. "Who else would we rely on, if not our friends."

"Ourselves?" Wakatoshi asked seriously. 

"Well, we can rely on ourselves, yes. But what I meant is that we _should_ rely on our friends when we need them. Friends watch out for each other," Asahi said with a warm smile.

Wakatoshi nodded but didn't speak. He felt more and more nervous as they got closer to the parking lot. He had not spoken to Blue Hair for almost a year; there were a lot of things he didn’t want to have to talk about with the man. And he felt even more nervous when he saw that Yuu and Shouyou were yelling at Blue Hair. Yuutarou and Akira were behind the two short men with their arms crossed as if providing emotional support for the confrontation.

"You need to take a hint and leave our friend alone!" Yuu yelled as he stepped closer to Blue Hair.

Shouyou spoke very aggressively. "Yeah, he doesn't want to see you, you blue haired dummy!"

Blue Hair twisted his mouth angrily and pulled back his fist to punch Shouyou, but Tobio appeared out of nowhere and twisted Blue Hair's arm back. 

"I come to get you from work only to find you fighting in the parking lot? You idiot," Tobio said. He was giving Shouyou an annoyed look as he held Blue Hair’s wrist tightly.

“This guy was stalking Wakatoshi! We just came out here to get him to leave,” Shouyou said defensively.

Tobio looked between Shouyou and Wakatoshi, then turned his attention towards Blue Hair. “You should leave now, unless you want us to report you.”

Blue Hair shook himself free from Tobio and turned to look at Wakatoshi. “I’ll see you later,” he said icily as he got into his car. Then he peeled out of the parking lot.

Wakatoshi felt relieved that Blue Hair was gone, but nauseous over the thinly veiled threat in the man’s parting words. He didn’t want to walk home when he knew Blue Hair was probably driving around the area and waiting for him to be alone again so he could corner him into a conversation. Or worse, to follow him home.

Asahi seemed to understand Wakatoshi’s worries. “I’m sure you don’t feel safe walking home now. Do you want a ride?”

It seemed like there was a good chance that Blue Hair would try to follow Wakatoshi home, even by car. So he frowned and wondered what to do. “I think it's best for me to avoid going home right now.”

Akira spoke up as he reached for Yuutarou’s hand. “Come stay at our place, then. We don’t mind at all.” 

“Or you can stay with me and Asahi,” Yuu offered.

Tobio surprised Wakatoshi with an offer of hospitality as well. “We've not met officially, but I know who you are. You could stay with us if you want, and ride with us to the cast lunch tomorrow.” 

Wakatoshi was once again moved by everyone’s kindness. But when it came down to it, he really didn’t want to stay with any of them, as much as he appreciated the offers. They were ‘small dose’ people; he could only handle being around them for a short amount of time. And he just wasn’t that comfortable around them. There was only one person he wanted to stay the night with, and that was Satori. He wondered if it would be okay to call and ask if he could sleep over.

“I have a friend I may be able to stay with,” Wakatoshi said as he pulled out his cell phone.

Shouyou and Tobio nodded in understanding as they turned around and went to leave. But then Tobio put a protective arm over Shouyou. “Don’t go picking fights with strange guys. Especially when I’m not there.”

“I knew you’d be coming soon, so I wasn’t worried!” Shouyou said cheerfully as he leaned into Tobio’s embrace while they walked. If it hadn’t been so dark outside, Tobio’s blush would have been obvious to see.

Akira and Yuutarou both gave Wakatoshi an encouraging pat on the arm before they walked to their car so they could drive home. That just left Asahi and Yuu, who were waiting to find out where Wakatoshi wanted to be taken.

  
  
  
  



	13. Expectations And Reality Never Seem To Line Up

Satori was laying in bed and concentrating on drawing some art on his tablet. So it startled him slightly when his phone started ringing. Even more surprising was that the caller ID read that it was Wakatoshi; they had just been on the phone together just fifteen minutes earlier.

He answered the phone and held it to his ear as he rolled onto his stomach. “Hey, Wakatoshi. What’s up?”

Wakatoshi’s voice came through the phone and sounded slightly tighter than usual. “I was wondering if I might be able to… stay the night at your place tonight. I can explain why in person.”

Satori hurried to sit up in bed. “You want to sleep over? I mean, yeah, that’s totally fine. That would actually be fun. We could run lines or just hang out and watch a movie. Or whatever you wanted to do. I’ll text you my address. Or do you want me to ask Mattsun if I can use his car to come get you?” 

Satori's heart was pounding hard in his chest from the excitement of the sudden change in how he was going to spend the rest of his night.

“A coworker has offered to give me a ride. I'll be there soon, thank you,” Wakatoshi said politely.

“Okay, see you soon,” Satori said before hanging up and texting his address to Wakatoshi.

He wondered if Wakatoshi might be wanting to confess to him or something, and felt himself blush deeply; that would be rather sudden. He wasn’t expecting to move their relationship forward so soon. He took a few breaths to calm himself while closing his eyes for a minute. Then he looked around his bedroom and realized it was a total mess. 

He jumped out of bed to start cleaning up around his room. He tossed dirty laundry into his hamper, made his bed, and took his overflowing trash can out of his room. He even went and grabbed the kitchen trash while he was at it. He was just slipping on his shoes so he could go out to the dumpster when Takahiro came out into the living room, followed by Issei. 

“Where are you off to?” Takahiro asked. 

Satori answered quickly as he opened the front door, holding up his trash can for Takahiro to see. “Taking out the trash, as you can clearly see. Will you do the dishes?”

He didn’t wait for Takahiro’s answer; instead he ran out to the dumper at the end of the apartment building and then hurried back. He was out of breath when he came inside, and was met with both Takahiro and Issei staring at him with crossed arms.

“You’re being weird,” Takahiro said with a suspicious squint. “Why are you asking me to clean? You never do that. You know I get stuff done... eventually.”

Satori stepped around the two men and started straightening up the living room by stacking up books and putting some small blankets into a folded pile. “Wakatoshi's coming to sleep over and I don’t want him to see our place all messy.”

“He's coming to sleep over? _Here?_ I need some details about how this came to be. Is this a date kind of thing?” Takahiro asked while moving to pick up some dirty dishes off the coffee table.

Issei yawned loudly; it was just after ten, and therefore it was past his bedtime. “I want to hear all about this tomorrow. Have fun and don’t be loud. Remember we share a wall,” he said as he shuffled to his and Takahiro’s bedroom. 

Satori blushed deeply as he hurried over to the kitchen to start washing the dishes, because Takahiro hadn’t started doing so yet and he was impatient. “It’s not a date. At least I don’t think it is… he didn’t really say why but he asked to sleep over just now.”

Takahiro smiled as he followed Satori into the kitchen and set the dishes from the coffee table down beside the sink. Then he started to help clear the counters and wiped them with a washcloth. “He must've really wanted to be around you. That’s so cute.”

“You better not do anything embarrassing!” Satori said with an accusing air as he quickly rinsed dishes and put them into the dishwasher.

Takahiro scoffed in disbelief, as if the fact that he was a prankster was not well known knowledge. “I would never! Don’t you trust me?”

“I don’t know, can I _trust_ you to leave us alone?” Satori said with a little more salt than he intended as he finished loading the dishwasher and started to scrub one of the pans that sat in the sink.

Once Takahiro had finished wiping down the counters, he gently put a hand on Satori’s shoulder and spoke solemnly. “Hey. I promise to leave you two alone, okay? I won’t embarrass you.”

Satori turned to look at his friend with an appreciative smile. “Thank you, Makki.”

“But if you two end up doing _‘things’_ and get loud, I can’t promise to control what expressions my face will make at the two of you in the morning,” Takahiro said teasingly as he left the kitchen and walked towards his bedroom.

“We won’t be doing any _‘things’_ like that!” Satori called out to his friend as he finished scrubbing the pans and started rinsing them off.

Once he had the kitchen clean, he went to his bedroom to double check that it was organized enough. He decided that everything was as orderly as it was going to get, so he walked back out to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch stiffly. He checked his phone to see if Wakatoshi had texted him, but there was nothing from the man.

He started tapping his feet excitedly. He thought he might actually freak out if Wakatoshi confessed. Would they sleep in the same bed at that point? Or would it be better to offer the bed to Wakatoshi and sleep on the couch himself, like he would have done without a confession? What if Wakatoshi really did want to do _‘things’_ with him? 

He wasn’t sure if he was actually ready for that. He hadn’t told Wakatoshi about the scar on his stomach, and seeing it out of nowhere would probably ruin the mood. Plus, he hated the way it looked and didn't want Wakatoshi to associate it with him. Not until they knew each other better. He was actually a little afraid to let anyone else see it; he hadn't even shown it to his friends.

As Satori’s nerves were starting to get more and more tangled up, he heard a sudden gentle knock. He jumped up off the couch and hurried to the front door, but paused for a couple seconds before he opened it; he didn’t want to come off as too eager. 

When he finally opened it, he saw Wakatoshi and grinned nervously. But his smile faded slightly as he took in the man’s appearance. Wakatoshi was still dressed for work and didn’t have an overnight bag. He looked kind of pale and seemed like he was uncomfortable, or even a little bit afraid. It was a look that Satori had not seen on him before. 

“Are you okay?” Satori asked as he moved aside to let Wakatoshi come in.

Wakatoshi stepped inside and slipped off his shoes, then glanced back outside with a worried expression before Satori closed the door. “It's kind of complicated. Would it be okay if I borrow some clothes and use your shower before we talk about it? I smell like the food cooked at the restaurant."

“Sure, no problem. The bathroom's the first door on the left. I’ll go get you a towel and something to wear,” Satori said quickly. 

He went from feeling jittery with excitement to nervous with concern. Wakatoshi seemed genuinely upset about whatever it was that had made him ask to come over. Satori realized this wasn’t going to be the evening he had expected; however, he was glad that Wakatoshi had come to him for support. That was actually easier for him to deal with than a would-be confession.

Satori walked into his bedroom and found some of his looser pajamas as well as a pair of boxers. They would probably be a little tight on Wakatoshi, but it couldn’t be helped. He walked to the bathroom and set the clothes on the counter, put a clean towel over them, and then went back over to Wakatoshi. The man was looking out the front window through the blinds.

“Are you worried about being followed or something?” Satori said jokingly in hopes of lighten the mood.

“Yes. Don’t answer the door while I'm in the shower,” Wakatoshi replied as he turned and walked towards the bathroom.

“Oh… okay,” was all Satori managed to reply with. Wakatoshi's statement caught him totally off guard. 

He watched Wakatoshi disappear into the bathroom and then went to sit on the couch. He wondered who it was that Wakatoshi thought might come to the door; hopefully it wasn’t someone dangerous. His imagination started to run wild as he played out different scenarios in his head: 

-Wakatoshi might be involved in a gang. This was not ideal in any way, because Satori didn’t like gangs and that seemed like a really sketchy situation to be caught up in.

-Wakatoshi might have upset a customer at work so much that they threatened to follow him and hurt him. This didn’t seem possible and would be very odd if true. Wakatoshi may be blunt, but he was also polite and didn’t seem like the type to encourage a confrontation. 

-Wakatoshi might have an angry ex that was seeking revenge for something. That seemed as unlikely as the other two scenarios, though. He really couldn’t picture Wakatoshi doing something that would be hurtful towards someone he cared about. 

It was a relief when his thoughts were interrupted by Wakatoshi coming out of the bathroom, because he was making himself dizzy with all his what-ifs. He stood up and turned to look at Wakatoshi, and then froze when took in the sight of the man. The borrowed pajamas were definitely tight on Wakatoshi, and it left nothing of the man’s muscular body to the imagination. It also looked surprisingly good. 

“Sorry if the clothes aren't very comfortable,” Satori said as he blushed slightly and tried not to stare.

Wakatoshi gave a sincere reply. “They're fine. Thank you for letting me use them.”

Satori played with his hands for a moment before gesturing to the couch. “Do you want to sit and talk?”

With a nod, Wakatoshi moved to sit down. 

Satori sat down as well and turned his body so that he could face Wakatoshi. It was silent for almost a full minute. He decided to speak when it seemed like Wakatoshi wasn’t going to go first. “So… do you want to talk about why you seemed upset when you got here?”

Wakatoshi took a deep breath. “It's a long story. I'm not sure where to start.”

“I’m okay with a long story. You could start at the beginning, if you want,” Satori said with an encouraging smile.

Wakatoshi hummed. “The beginning? Okay. I'll start from when I met my ex, then.”

Satori’s stomach clenched slightly. It would be hard to listen to Wakatoshi talk about an ex, but he wanted to be supportive. And he was also very curious about the story that led to the current situation. So he nodded and listened quietly as Wakatoshi started speaking. 

“I met him when I was in first grade. We became friends. He was my only real friend. We started dating at the end of highschool. I didn't always feel accepted and was often unhappy. But he was my best friend, so I tried to make it work. 

When we moved in together for college, he started behaving oddly. He would leave late at night and not come back until morning. He never told me why, but I think I can guess based on what I found him doing last year. He was having sex with someone else in a bathroom stall at the library. 

I just happened to walk into that particular bathroom that day, and I recognized the sound of his voice. But I wanted to be sure, so I waited outside the bathroom. Soon enough, my ex walked out hand in hand with another man. They didn’t see me, so I left and went right home. 

I packed up all my stuff and moved out before he got back. I haven't talked to him since, but he keeps finding out where I work. He shows up and tries to talk to me. I’ve had to quit a couple jobs because of it. I don’t want to hear his excuses. 

Tonight he showed up at my work for the first time since I started this job and he implied that he intended to see me later. So he may well have planned to follow me home, and that's why I didn't want to go home. And now I'm here."

Wakatoshi seemed finished, so Satori cleared his throat. “That story wasn’t too long of a story, after all…”

“I summarized it generously,” Wakatoshi replied quietly while looking down at his lap.

Satori could tell that this was something that weighed heavily on Wakatoshi; something difficult to talk about. He slowly reached a hand out to put it on Wakatoshi’s forearm, then gave a gentle squeeze. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that. Thank you for telling me.”

Wakatoshi gave a small nod. He seemed like he didn’t want to talk anymore, which was understandable. Satori figured he was living through a lot of painful memories. So he decided that the best thing to do in that moment was to just be there for Wakatoshi, even in silence. He kept his hand on Wakatoshi’s forearm and let himself be a quiet presence of comfort.

After what very well may have been twenty minutes, Wakatoshi finally glanced at Satori. “You mentioned watching a movie when I called earlier. Is there one you were wanting to watch?”

Satori realized that Wakatoshi was ready to move on from the topic now. “I didn’t have a specific one in mind. Did you want to pick a show for us to watch together? Or we could try to sleep, if you’re too tired." 

“I don't think I can sleep easily. Not without going for my usual run,” Wakatoshi replied softly.

Satori hummed thoughtfully at that. Wakatoshi probably shouldn't go run when his ex might be out there waiting around. “Let’s just watch a show. Here, take the remote and put on whatever you want. I’ll make us some tea,” he said as he handed Wakatoshi the remote and stood up. 

Wakatoshi caught Satori's hand as he went to walk past, then gave it a squeeze before letting it go. “Thank you, Satori. For letting me stay here, and for listening.”

Satori gave a warm smile. “I’m here whenever you need me.”

  
  



	14. The Comfort Of A Friend

Wakatoshi felt a little lighter after having told Satori about his ex. It was something he hadn’t shared before, and it was kind of nice to have someone to talk about it with. Although, he ended saying much less than he thought he would. But it had been too unpleasant to go into details, so he gave Satori the shortest version possible while still covering the basic facts. 

Satori had seemed to be genuinely interested in hearing about it, so Wakatoshi decided he would bring it up with him again in the future. Just not tonight since he was feeling so emotionally drained. 

While Satori was making tea, Wakatoshi scrolled through the different choices for what to watch. He was excited when he saw that Satori had a ton of different anime on his watchlist; many of them were shows that he liked or wanted to see. It was another thing the two of them could do together.

“I have a long watchlist, don't I?” Satori asked as he came to sit down with a mug in each hand. He then offered one to Wakatoshi.

“Thank you for the tea. Is there a particular show you would like to watch?” Wakatoshi asked as he put his mug down on the coffee table for the time being.

Satori shrugged as he sat back against the couch to get comfortable while sipping his drink. “Anything you want is fine.”

Wakatoshi nodded as he scrolled through the choices. He wanted something comforting and predictable, so he picked a slice of life sports anime that he had already seen before; it was one he never got tired of watching.

“Oh, this is one of my favorites,” Satori said with a smile.

“Mine as well,” Wakatoshi replied earnestly. He picked his mug of tea up and settled back against the couch, then his arm brushed against Satori’s.

Satori pulled a blanket out of the blanket pile, which had been shoved under the coffee table when he was cleaning earlier, and spread it over himself and Wakatoshi. In the process, he ended up scooting even closer. The cuddling was a welcome thing for the both of them. 

They settled in and watched the show, going through episode after episode, for what ended up being more than a couple hours. It was the perfect distraction to keep Wakatoshi from thinking about the things that weighed on his mind, and it was a very pleasant way to spend time together.

The clock read just past one in the morning when Satori started to get droopy from being tired. Wakatoshi occasionally glanced at him out of the corner of his eye to observe his gradual wilting process; it was just as cute as the last time he had seen it.

Bit by bit, Satori drifted towards Wakatoshi’s shoulder. He'd occasionally catch himself and sit back up. After a couple minutes of that, Satori ended up leaning against Wakatoshi’s shoulder as he finally fell asleep.

With Satori sleeping soundly against him, Wakatoshi found that he was starting to feel tired as well. While he longed to be able to go on a run like he usually did, he was surprised at how calm and relaxed he felt while sitting there with Satori beside him. Soon, his eyelids started to feel heavy; with each blink, his eyes stayed closed just a little bit longer.

Finally, Wakatoshi fell asleep with his head resting on top of Satori’s. They slept on the couch like that, cuddled against each other, all the way until morning.

\----

When Wakatoshi woke up, he had a pinch in his neck that was slightly uncomfortable. He looked around the room, and then looked down at his lap, where Satori had ended up laying his head down sometime during the night. 

Wakatoshi gave a soft smile as he reached a hand over to move some hair away from Satori’s forehead. He wished he had a picture of him like this. He looked so innocent and sweet, and he wanted to hold onto the image forever.

As it turned out, he would be getting that picture after all. 

Takahiro was standing a few feet away while taking pictures with his phone. “You two looked so precious that I knew I had to get a photo. Don’t worry, I took at least twenty. I’m sure one of them turned out perfect.”

Wakatoshi spoke somewhat snappily. “Do you often take photos of Satori while he sleeps?”

Takahiro grimaced slightly, but his eyes were playful. “Wow, don’t make me sound creepy. I’m just being a good friend and helping preserve the memories you two will want to look back on someday.”

“I see,” Wakatoshi replied. He looked back down at Satori, who was still sound asleep despite the noise of the conversation. He was actually rather grateful that there would be a picture of this moment. 

Takahiro cleared his throat. “Mattsun already left for the theatre, Daichi just picked him up. So I’ll be driving us to the theatre after breakfast. I was going to make pancakes. Does that sound good to you?”

Wakatoshi nodded. “Yes. I like pancakes.”

“You can probably sneak out from under Satori if you want to get up. It’s early still and he's a pretty heavy sleeper,” Takahiro said from the kitchen as he started to mix up pancake batter. 

Wakatoshi looked over at Takahiro, and then down at Satori again. The redhead was resting so peacefully on his lap and he didn't feel particularly motivated to get up. “I think I'll stay here for a while longer.”

Takahiro gave a satisfied smile that Wakatoshi didn’t see; he was feeling happy that Satori was with someone who seemed so gentle and loving. 

Part of Wakatoshi wanted to stay right there on that couch for the entire day so that he could make the moment last. There was something very relaxing about sitting with Satori sleeping on him. If they had been in a bed, he'd have cuddled up to Satori and went back to sleep. But he would settle for getting to be Satori's pillow for as long as he could. 

Unfortunately, Takahiro accidentally dropped a metal mixing bowl only a short moment later.

“My bad!” 

That was enough to make Satori jolt into abrupt consciousness. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then looked around sleepily. “Guess we fell asleep on the couch... what time is it?”

“Just past seven!” Takahiro called from the kitchen.

Satori looked at his friend and nodded, then glanced at Wakatoshi. “Sorry we ended up sharing the couch. I had meant to let you use my bed. Did you sleep okay?"

Wakatoshi nodded slightly. He was pretty happy that they ended up sharing the couch. “I slept fine, although my neck is stiff.”

“Satori gives great massages. He should rub your neck for you while I finish making breakfast!” Takahiro suggested from the kitchen with a sly smile.

Satori started blushing. “I don’t mind rubbing your neck if you’re comfortable with that.”

Wakatoshi felt himself blushing slightly as well. He really liked massages, but he didn't want to say so. “I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“It wouldn’t be an inconvenience, I don’t mind,” Satori said. He pulled at Wakatoshi’s hand to get him to move. “Sit in front of the couch so I can reach your neck more easily.”

Wakatoshi let Satori guide him over to sitting on the floor, and then closed his eyes while Satori started rubbing small circles around his neck and shoulders with a firm touch. He loved the feeling of massages because the deep pressure was very soothing. But he was too shy to go to a spa for a massage; rather, he didn’t want a stranger touching him. The fact that it was Satori giving him a massage made the experience ten times better. He liked Satori and was comfortable with him. 

Satori called over to Takahiro while he continued to rub Wakatoshi’s neck and shoulders. “We need to swing by Wakatoshi’s apartment before we go to the theatre so he can get clothes.”

Takahiro called back his reply as he poured pancake batter onto a hot pan. “Okay. Why didn’t he bring any clothes, though? I noticed that he's wearing your pajamas. Are you guys trying to be like me and Mattsun, like how we switch clothes all the time?"

Wakatoshi blushed at the fact that Takahiro was questioning why he had shown up unprepared. He didn’t want to explain the situation with his ex, and he didn’t want Satori to talk about it either. Luckily, it seemed that Satori understood that without needing to be told. 

“It was just a last minute sleepover. Spur of the moment and all that,” Satori said casually. 

Wakatoshi reached a hand up and took one of Satori’s, then gave a grateful squeeze. 

Satori leaned forward and whispered in Wakatoshi’s ear. “Don’t worry. I won’t talk about what you told me last night. Your secrets are safe with me.”

Wakatoshi got goosebumps from the feeling of Satori’s breath against his ear. He turned to give his thanks, but almost collided with Satori’s face. Their lips were close for a moment as they looked at each other, and Satori started to blush deeply.

Wakatoshi blushed lightly as well. If they had been alone, he may have been tempted to kiss Satori in that moment, even though he didn't think they were at the point of being able to be in a relationship yet. But either way, Takahiro was there. And that made it too weird for a kiss to even be an option.

To escape the moment, Wakatoshi cleared his throat and stood up. “Thank you for the massage.”

Satori quickly went to stand up as well; he seemed to be feeling awkward. “I can keep going if you want.”

Wakatoshi glanced at Takahiro before he replied with, “maybe another time.”

He was uncomfortable having moments that felt intimate while in front of Takahiro, and massages were definitely intimate when Satori was the one giving them. 

Satori seemed to understand. So he gave a knowing smile and a nod. “Okay. Rain check on the massage.”

Takahiro called out from the kitchen. “The first round of pancakes are done. Come eat!”

Wakatoshi followed Satori to the kitchen and was handed a plate with a couple pancakes on it. He gave Takahiro a grateful nod before moving to sit at the table that was in the dining room right outside of the kitchen. Satori moved to sit next to him, and they both started eating. The pancakes were very good. They were fluffy on the inside with a crisp exterior, just how Wakatoshi liked them.

“These are excellent pancakes,” Wakatoshi said while glancing at Takahiro.

Takahiro sounded proud when he spoke. “Well, thank you. I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Satori cracked a playful grin. “Yeah, Makki only knows how to make pancakes.”

“I see. You’ve mastered the art, Makki,” Wakatoshi said sincerely. 

“Flattery will get you everywhere, young man. Here, have more pancakes,” Takahiro said as he brought another three of the pancakes over by spatula and flopped them onto Wakatoshi’s plate.

“Thank you. I probably won't want more than this,” Wakatoshi said as he poured maple syrup over the fresh pancakes. 

"More for us then," Takahiro said as he returned to the stove. Then he shoveled his own pancakes into his mouth as he poured more batter onto the pan.

“Mattsun is the house champion when it comes to pancakes,” Satori commented.

“What did it take for him to earn the title of champion?” Wakatoshi asked curiously, and for some reason he started to picture people fighting with pancakes as boxing gloves. 

It was Takahiro who answered. “He slept with the cook.”

Satori rolled his eyes. “That, and he can eat more than twenty pancakes.”

Wakatoshi chose to ignore Takahiro's comment and responded only to Satori. “Impressive.”

Takahiro chuckled and he walked over and put two more pancakes on Satori's plate. “Yes, it took a lot for Mattsun to win my heart over. But I couldn't resist his charm in the end."

“I meant about eating the pancakes,” Wakatoshi replied with a slight blush.

Satori squeezed Wakatoshi’s arm. “Makki knows that, just ignore him.”

“Don’t ignore the hand that feeds you,” Takahiro teased as he flipped the last few pancakes over onto his own plate.

Satori laughed. “I know how to feed myself without your help. I may not make pancakes that well, but at least I can make rice without burning it.”

“Wow, really? You’re gonna bring that up? It was one time,” Takahiro said as he turned off the stove and stuck the pan in the sink. He ran water over it, and steam came up from the pan as he did so.

Satori looked at Wakatoshi with a playful smile and then purposely whispered loud enough for Takahiro to hear. “He burns it every time.”

Wakatoshi grinned silently while Satori giggled.

“I heard that! No pancakes for you tomorrow,” Takahiro said with mock seriousness. 

Wakatoshi smiled at Satori and Takahiro’s banter. It was clear that the two were close and comfortable with each other. He was happy that Satori had friends that cared about him, and he was also happy that Satori was now his friend. The man already meant a lot to him.

Wakatoshi finished his food and stood up, then moved towards the sink. “I'll do the dishes since you cooked,” he said to Takahiro in a polite voice.

Takahiro grinned appreciatively as he went to walk out of the kitchen. “Why thank you, kind sir. I’m going to go get dressed, and then we can leave as soon as you two are ready.”

Satori brought his plate over to the sink and gave Wakatoshi’s shoulder a squeeze. “Thanks for doing the dishes. I’m going to go get dressed, too. Do you want to try some of my clothes, or just stay in those pajamas until we get to your place?”

“I'll just stay in these so that I don’t dirty more laundry,” Wakatoshi replied plainly.

“What about a jacket? It’s still pretty cold out,” Satori asked; his hand was still on Wakatoshi’s shoulder.

Wakatoshi hummed thoughtfully. “I supposed a jacket is necessary, so I'll borrow one. Thank you.”

“You got it,” Satori said as he gave Wakatoshi’s shoulder one more gentle squeeze before letting go and leaving the kitchen.

Wakatoshi washed the dishes and thought about how he had ended up at Satori’s apartment. He really needed to confront his ex soon, especially now that he had Satori in his life. He didn’t think his ex would actually attack Satori or anyone else, but he felt like he needed closure. He didn’t want his ex looming over him and Satori’s budding relationship.

But he didn’t know how to go about confronting his ex, and he felt very nervous about doing so. 

Then he remembered Asahi's words from the night before; he had said that it was good to rely on friends. That seemed like good advice. He wondered if Satori would be willing to be there with him while he talked to his ex, or if that would make things weird.

Wakatoshi had just finished the dishes when Satori came back into the kitchen. He was wearing warm clothes and holding an extra jacket. “You okay? You look kind of worried. Are you thinking about… you know who, from last night?”

Wakatoshi nodded. “I'd been thinking that I should confront my ex.”

“Oh, wow. That’s nerve wracking," Satori replied.

"I'm not sure how I'll do it. I don't want to talk to him, but I'll have to do it eventually," Wakatoshi replied while frowning slightly. 

  
  


"Uhm, if you wanted… I could be there with you when you talk to him. Only if you were comfortable with it, of course. The guy just seems a little sketchy, and maybe you'd want extra support. But if not, I understand. So don’t worry about it,” Satori said as he glancing away awkwardly. 

Wakatoshi felt such a deep sense of relief that Satori had just offered to do exactly what he had needed. It was like they were on the same page without meaning to be. He felt such a rush of gratitude that he stepped forward and pulled Satori into a hug.

“I appreciate your support. Thank you.”

Satori returned the hug and held Wakatoshi tightly. They stood there and embraced each other for a long moment, until the sound of Takahiro clearing his throat made them break apart.

“Oh, don’t let me interrupt. Go back to hugging. I was just getting emotional seeing you two be so cute and mushy,” Takahiro said while wiping away a fake tear.

Satori was blushing as he gave Takahiro an irritated look. "You promised me something, remember?"

Takahiro gave a bratty wink as he jingled his car keys. “And I always keep my promises, don't I? So, are you two ready to go?” 

Wakatoshi nodded. “Yes.”

Satori handed Wakatoshi the extra jacket that was still in his hand. “Yeah, let’s go. Can you just drop us off at Wakatoshi’s apartment instead of waiting for us? That way he has time to get dressed, and the two of us can walk to the theatre.”

Takahiro pretended to be insulted. “You just don’t want to hang out with me anymore. Admit it!"

“That’s only part of it, Makki. I also love walking in the snow,” Satori said with a teasing grin. 

Wakatoshi had just put the jacket on, and Satori reached to grab his sleeve and pull him towards the door. They slipped on their shoes and then went out to Takahiro’s car. Once it was unlocked, Satori pulled Wakatoshi into the back seat. It was somehow colder in the car than it was outside, so Satori ended up sliding into the middle seat and huddling against Wakatoshi for warmth.

Takahiro slipped into the driver’s seat and then turned around while giving a goofy smile. “I’ll be your driver today. No small talk please, only music. What's the address?”

Wakatoshi gave his address and then they were on their way. Takahiro turned the volume up and rocked out to music while he drove, fairly ignoring the two other men. That was how he always was when he drove.

Satori shivered and wiggled even closer to Wakatoshi. 

Wakatoshi enjoyed the feeling of Satori clinging to him for warmth, and he ended up putting his arm over the redhead’s shoulders. The music Takahiro played was loud enough to take away the possibility of conversation, so they cuddled together quietly. 

At one point, Takahiro tried to take a picture of them while the car was still moving, which led to a sharp swerve and near accident. Satori took Takahiro’s phone from him after that and ended up taking a bunch of silly pictures with it. Wakatoshi joined in too, but didn’t make silly faces like Satori was making. He just leaned in next to Satori’s face for each photo and gave his usual calm expression.

It only ended up taking ten minutes to get to Wakatoshi’s apartment. He and Satori thanked Takahiro and climbed out of the parked car. Then they trudged through the snow that was built up in the gutter. 

Takahiro rolled down the window and called out to them. “See you at the theatre, you two!”

Wakatoshi and Satori both waved, and then walked up to the door of the apartment. Once they were inside, Wakatoshi went to his dresser and pulled out some warm clothes. Then he immediately stripped out of all of the clothes that he had borrowed and put on his own. When he turned around, Satori was looking as red as a cherry. 

“Are you okay?” Wakatoshi asked.

Satori was wide eyed and gently biting his thumb as he nodded silently in response. Wakatoshi had been completely naked for a moment and it had taken Satori by surprise.

Because Wakatoshi had spent most of his time with his ex while growing up, he was accustomed to changing in front of someone else; he didn’t even give it a second thought. Especially because he was comfortable around Satori.

After a moment, Satori turned towards the door and cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. Are you sure you're not feeling sick? Your face is very red,” Wakatoshi said as he walked towards the door and followed Satori outside. “I wondered about this the day we first met as well, but maybe you have food allergies. Have you ever gotten red after eating pancakes before?”

Satori gave an amused smile. “I’m not allergic to pancakes, trust me,” he said as he nudged into Wakatoshi. “Do you get naked in front of everyone you know?”

Wakatoshi thought about the question. “I have not gotten naked in front of everyone I know. Most of the people I know are your friends, as well as the people at my work. And there has not been any reason for me to change in front of them. Why do you ask?”

Satori bit his bottom lip as he tried to hold back a smile; his blush was as dark as ever when he finally spoke. “Think about it for a second. How would you feel if you saw me naked right now?”

Wakatoshi paused to seriously consider it. “I would feel concerned for your health because it's too cold outside to be naked.”

Satori let out a stream of quiet giggles and then looped his arm around Wakatoshi’s arm. “Okay, fair enough.”

They walked along in silence for a few minutes before Wakatoshi spoke again. He had realized that he might have made Satori upset by changing in front of him. “How did you feel when you saw me naked?”

Poor Satori’s blush had just started to fade, but grew dark red again because of Wakatoshi’s question. “I think I’d rather not say.”

“Would you prefer that I not change in front of you?” Wakatoshi asked sincerely. He didn't want to make Satori uncomfortable. 

Satori bit at his lower lip before he responded. “You can change in front of me if that's something your comfortable with, but maybe give me some warning next time so I can be polite and turn around."

"I see. I'll warn you next time, then," Wakatoshi replied. Though he thought it might best to just not change in front of Satori at all if it was going to upset him. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Thank you so much for the comments lately, they really motivated me!!)


	15. The First Day Of Set Building

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **trigger maybe** brief moment with description of panic/anxiety

The theatre was buzzing with activity when Satori and Wakatoshi arrived.

Issei was discussing the layout for the set with Daichi and Hajime. The three men had been the first to arrive that morning and were well underway with getting things set up so that they could start building. They had brought a bunch of supplies into the theatre over the past week and just needed to get some specifics worked out before they laid out the framing.

Keiji was in the music room with the door open, working on composing a song. He was switching between playing different keys on the piano and writing down the notes he liked. He had several other instruments out as well so that he could compare their different sounds. 

Keiji had a very specific process for writing a new song and it usually ended with him playing the entire song himself, one instrument at a time. He recorded the sound of each one, then he would go back and layer all the sounds to be able to hear the full song; that way he could see if adjustments needed to happen. It was sometimes a tedious process, but he had endless patience when it came to two things: creating music and tolerating Koutarou's sketchbook hoarding.

Koutarou was in the music room with Keiji; he was sketching costume designs while he whistled quietly to himself and tapped his feet to the beat of the music that was playing in his headphones. He had a small pile of sketchbooks in a chair on one side of himself, and a little box with sketching supplies on his other side. He preferred to do his costume designs with paper and pencil since that's what he was used to working with. 

However, Satori had been trying to convince Koutarou to try digital art techniques for some time because it would help him keep his designs organized in a more space efficient way. It was well known that Koutarou and Keiji’s bedroom closet was packed full of sketchbooks. 

Tooru was at a table working on a pile of homework. He was wearing the glasses that he only ever wore for studying. Really though, he needed to wear them more often. But he didn’t like how he looked when he wore them. And since he didn't like how contacts felt, he often had an irritated looking squint just because he couldn't quite see clearly. 

Every now and again, Tooru would look up from his homework and give directions to some of the first years that were dancing individually near the back of the room. Tooru had choreographed all the dance scenes for the play already, and had high expectations for anyone who danced one of his routines. Some people considered him to be nitpicky. But thanks to his attention to detail, the dances he choreographed always turned out beautifully. 

Takahiro and Koushi sat at a table and were going over notes and schedules. It was an incredibly messy scene, and everyone wondered how the two of them even kept track of anything. But they had a “system” that worked for them, or so they said. To anyone else, putting sticky notes on everything and then stacking it into random piles hardly seemed like an efficient system.

And it didn't seem like very much work was getting done at that table. Koushi had just finished telling a joke that he and Takahiro were giggling about. Then they scooted their chairs away from the table and were trying to toss pieces of chocolate at each other's open mouths from five feet away. That didn't last long because they quickly used up all of their chocolate. So they scooted back to the table and took a selfie, then sent it to their whole friend group with the caption 'hard at work doing theatre business.'

Satori grinned at Wakatoshi from where they stood by the door of the room. Wakatoshi was taking in everything going on around him with a solemn expression, though that seemed to just be how he usually looked. 

Satori still had his arm looped around Wakatoshi's elbow because they had walked all the way to the theatre that way. "Why don't I officially introduce you to Daichi and Hajime? You can help get some set building done while I paint some backgrounds, and we’ll do the script read through after lunch."

Wakatoshi nodded, then he and Satori walked together to where Issei was talking to Daichi and Iwaizumi. 

Satori cleared his throat to get their attention. "This is Wakatoshi," he said. Then he gestured to each of the two men Wakatoshi had not yet met. "This is Daichi, and this is Hajime. Our resident set builders."

They greeted each other with handshakes and nods. 

Issei gave a playful smirk. “How was your sleepover last night, boys? You were so cute all cuddled up on the couch when I left this morning. I snapped some pictures of it, and I'll send them to you later. But I bet Makki got some too.”

Satori gave a small grin and glanced at Wakatoshi with a blush. “Did you see Makki taking any photos?”

Wakatoshi looked at Satori and gave a nod. 

Meanwhile, Hajime raised an eyebrow. “A sleepover? Are you fifteen or something?”

"You have a sleepover with Tooru every night," Issei teased playfully as he ruffled Hajime's dark spiky hair. 

Hajime scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not called a sleepover when you live together."

Daichi elbowed Hajime. “Let them have their sleepovers," he said. Then he turned to look at Wakatoshi. "Satori told me that you've worked construction before, so that makes this easier. Right now we're about to start working on a bridge. And we could use your help."

Wakatoshi spoke flatly. “I'm glad to offer my assistance.”

“Cool. I'll show you the blueprints, then we can get started,” Daichi said with a friendly smile.

Wakatoshi glanced at Satori and gave a small nod before he followed the other three men to a table that was set up on the stage. 

Satori decided to go to the stage as well so that he could start painting some of the set components. He started working on a long roll of fabric that would be a backdrop. But he kept getting distracted by watching Wakatoshi and the others do the construction on the bridge; he ended up sitting on the stage with a wet paint brush in each hand and a smaller paint brush held between his teeth as he stared off towards Wakatoshi.

Koushi, Tooru, and Takahiro eventually came over to chill with Satori on the stage. They each took one of the paint brushes from their distracted friend and set them down on some scrap paper. Afterwards, they sat down and watched the four men work on building the set. 

All the four men happened to have tight fitting shirts and tight fitting pants, and had disregarded their jackets. So watching them work was a bit of a treat. Koushi, Tooru and Takahiro were all looking at their respective boyfriends with goofy grins; meanwhile Satori watched Wakatoshi with a slight blush. 

Koushi took a sip out of his thermos, which (not so) secretly had wine in it. "I do love watching my man work. Look at his arms."

Tooru hummed in agreement. "Check out Hajime's ass when he leans over. Now that's a good view."

Takahiro was watching Issei with a satisfied grin. "How did we all manage to catch such fine men?"

Koushi looked at Satori with a teasing expression. "Not all of us, yet. How's it going for you, Satori?"

"We ate lunch together at school every day this week," Satori said with a side glance as he played with a piece of his hair and twirled it between his fingers. 

"Aw, cute. You're like teenagers," Tooru said playfully as he nudged his shoulder into Satori's. 

"They also had a sleepover last night, and fell asleep together on the couch watching anime," Takahiro added with a wide grin.

Tooru hummed and raised an eyebrow. “You watched anime together instead of… oh, I don’t know... making a move?”

Satori huffed and rolled his eyes, then glared at Tooru half heartedly. "Well, _excuse me_ for not sleeping with him immediately after he first came to my place. Besides, all of you were friends with your boyfriends for a long time before you started dating or doing anything serious like that."

Koushi leaned his head on Satori's shoulder. "We’re just excited for you. It seems like you really like him. You light up whenever you see him and he does the same thing when he sees you."

Satori turned to look at Wakatoshi as the man hammered some boards, then sighed and tilted his head. "I do really like him. And I think he likes me, too."

Takahiro hummed playfully. "I'd say he _definitely_ likes you, too. You should have seen the way he was looking at you this morning. Oh wait, you can! Because I took pictures.” 

Takahiro pulled his phone out and showed the pictures to Satori first, then to the other two men.

Tooru and Koushi both gave an 'aw' and a thumbs up as they looked at the pictures of Satori sleeping on Wakatoshi's lap. Wakatoshi was looking at Satori with a very tender expression.

“That’s a look that totally says ‘ _I like this man and would cross an ocean for him,’’_ ’ Tooru said dreamily. Then he hugged his arms around himself with a sigh. 

Koushi grinned and put his hands over his chest. “It looks more like an _'I would worship this man for the rest of my life,’_ kind of expression, to me.”

Takahiro put his phone away and chuckled as he nudged Satori’s arm with his knuckles. “Or the look of a man who's going to ask you out as soon as he finds the courage. Unless you beat him to it.”

Satori pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, then rested his chin on his knees. "I’m okay with how things are going. We'll move to the next step when it feels like the right time."

Koushi suddenly grew serious and gave Satori a cautiously curious look. “Have you told him about… what happened last summer?”

The memories from the night he got mugged immediately came rushing into Satori’s mind, and he felt himself starting to tremble slightly. Then his mouth became dry and his throat felt tight; that always happened when someone asked about the incident. Finally, a wave of nausea hit him and he felt his heart beating uncomfortably fast. 

Satori shook his head then lowered his face down to his knees so he could hide.

Koushi leaned over and wrapped his arms around Satori while planting an affectionate kiss on the back of his head. Then he rubbed his cheek against Satori’s hair as if he could soothe the memories away. “Sorry for asking. Let’s talk about something else.”

Tooru reached over to put his hand on Satori’s shoulder, then gave it a squeeze as he went to change the subject. “Have you and Wakatoshi been finding any time to run lines?”

Satori looked up at Tooru and nodded while giving a weak smile. He couldn't muster his voice yet.

“Good, I’m glad,” Tooru said gently. “Maybe I won’t have to swoop in and take over as one of the leads, after all.”

Takahiro laughed at that. “You still want to though, don’t you?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” Tooru said frostily. But his voice softened when he continued. "However, I think Wakatoshi will do a good job. And I’m glad he's the one Satori will get to kiss in the final scene. I’d _never_ have let him kiss Tobio.”

Koushi chuckled lightly from where he was still hugging Satori. “You need to stop holding a grudge against Tobio. It’s not his fault the news article about our other play focused on him instead of you. He really looks up to you, you’re like his mentor.”

Tooru let out a dry huff of air. “Well, I never asked to be his mentor. I’ll be using all my mentoring on Wakatoshi, if he should need it.”

Satori cleared his throat as he finally found his voice again. “You should let Wakatoshi know that you approve of him playing the part. On our walk here this morning, he asked me if you were mad at him. He got it in his mind that you think he stole your part.”

Takahiro nudged Tooru. “Aw, give Wakatoshi some of that charismatic encouragement that you save up for the dance class kids you teach.”

“I’m afraid I use it all up when I’m dealing with those kids,” Tooru replied loftily. “They don’t know the difference between a side step and a hop, and it’s terribly aggravating.”

Koushi laughed as he finally let go of Satori and leaned back. “You talk like you hate it, but you forget that I go with you sometimes. Those kids adore you. And you love being their teacher. Also, you’re way nicer to them than you are to any of us. You should start giving us that kind of treatment."

“Those kids have parents that pay me to be nice to them,” Tooru quipped. “When you all start paying me to hang out with you, I’ll use my dance teacher voice to tell you what good children you are, and I’ll give you all the advice that you so desperately need.”

Takahiro winked at Koushi and reached over to ruffle Tooru’s hair just to mess with him.

Tooru smacked at Takahiro’s hand and frowned. “Don’t mess up my hair, Makki. You brat. It took me twenty minutes to style it this morning.”

Koushi reached over and ruffled Tooru’s hair from the other side, and then he and Takahiro giggled. 

Tooru stood up and shook his hair out. “That’s it. I’m going to go change the choreography for the dance Wakatoshi and Satori will be doing, and I’m going to make it way harder than it needs to be.”

Satori looked up and scrunched his eyebrows together. “Why am I being punished? I didn’t touch your hair.”

Tooru scoffed and turned up his nose. “When my dance students misbehave, they all have to do the punishment together. You boys wanted to be treated like children, so there you go.”

Satori, Koushi and Takahiro groaned at the same time. Tooru could be petty sometimes, especially if his hair was messed with. It was his point of pride when it came to his looks.

“How does that punish anyone but me and Wakatoshi though?” Satori asked as he stood up to give a playful pout.

Tooru was silent at he glared at his three friends. 

“Fine! I’m sorry for messing with your hair, Tooru. Please don’t punish our sweet cherry boy,” Takahiro said in an apologetic tone, though he was barely holding back laughter. 

Tooru nodded once and then turned to Koushi with an expectant look.

Koushi gave a small grin as he stood up. “Alright. I’m sorry, too. Will you spare Satori from your difficult dance routine?”

Tooru gave a smug grin. “Apologies accepted. And by the way, I was never going to make the dance harder in the first place. Why would I do that? I want this play to be successful, and Satori isn’t the best dancer.”

Satori gave a sarcastic twirl of his body. “If I was this good looking as well as a good dancer, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of you. I have to have some faults, you know.”

Tooru reached out to pat Satori’s shoulder in a patronizing way. “Yes, yes. You’re a beautiful young man even if you can’t dance. I’ll have you and Wakatoshi go through the routine after we finish the script reading later, so be prepared.”

  
  



	16. Dancing Together

Wakatoshi, Issei, Daichi and Hajime worked well together as a team; they almost managed to complete the framework for the simple bridge in just a few hours. The construction went fast with the four experienced and motivated men coordinating their efforts. 

And Wakatoshi had enjoyed getting to work with his hands again since it had been years since he did any construction. He had been hired at a construction company at eighteen and worked there until he was twenty, then quit so he could start college. He was almost twenty-four now. 

Four years of college. 

Two years since his father had died. 

One year since he had left his ex. 

And one week, as of tomorrow, since he had met Satori. 

He had ended up reflecting about the past a lot while he was doing some of the more mindless tasks involved in building. He used to go to construction jobs with his father while growing up, and that was a big part of why he wanted to own a construction company someday. It was a dream that he had told his father about. 

Wakatoshi's father had given endless support and encouragement when he started college. And when that support faded away with his fathers life, it had been a very difficult adjustment. The year between when his father died and when he finally left his ex was probably the worst year of his life. 

And the past year had also been difficult since he had to adjust to living alone for the first time. Not only that, but he had a hard time building friendships because he had switched jobs several times. All because he had been stalked by his ex. 

He really hoped that this next year would be one that he could spend with Satori, and that it would be the start of better things for him. 

It was right around noon when Kenma and Tetsurou showed up with a bunch of food for everyone. They had Tobio and Shouyou with them, and the two men were helping carry the take out bags in from the parking lot. 

The rest of the cast and their significant others showed up right around noon as well. But even with the full cast and crew there, the total was under sixty people. That was a small amount compared to the past. It had not been a popular year for the theatre department, unfortunately.

But the first years were talented, and hopefully the next year would bring even more people so that the school could continue to carry on the legacy of lgbqt+ stage plays, even after Satori and his friends had all graduated. 

Several long tables were set up in the back of the room and the food was spread out down the middle of it. Everyone quickly gathered around and found a seat. Wakatoshi was about to go look for Satori, but didn’t end up needing to do so. Satori came over and pulled him along to the table to sit next to him.

"How did you like working on the set with the other guys?" Satori asked as he reached into one of the take out bags and pulled out a burrito for Wakatoshi, and then grabbed another one for himself.

"It was good. I feel productive," Wakatoshi replied evenly. Then he unwrapped the burrito and took a bite of it. He didn’t like how spicy it was, but otherwise it was good. He had worked up an appetite from the last few hours of manual labor. 

Daichi spoke up from across the table. "It was great having your help today, Wakatoshi. We only do the sets on the weekend since Hajime and I have to work during the week. You'll be joining us from now on, I hope?"

Wakatoshi nodded and replied seriously. "I believe so. On Saturdays, that is. I can keep that day free."

Tooru was sitting on Hajime's lap and making it hard for the spiky haired man to see Wakatoshi across the table from him, let alone try to eat his food. However, Hajime didn’t seem unhappy about having Tooru on his lap; he had one arm snuggly wrapped around Tooru’s waist as he spoke.

"We're glad to have your knowledge and assistance. You should consider applying to the company we work for. We could always use another skilled person on the team."

Issei was a little further down the table, and he gave a nod of agreement. "Yeah, you work well with us. Have you considered getting back into construction?"

Koushi scoffed from where he sat, which was between Hajime’s seat and Daichi’s seat. "I will not let you take one of my lead performers! Not until after this production is finished, at least."

Satori spoke up in a voice that was slightly prideful. "Actually, Wakatoshi is hoping to have his own construction company someday. He's taking business classes right now with that goal in mind."

Daichi flashed an approving smile. "Nice, that's a good goal. Maybe we'll have to come work for you someday, then."

Wakatoshi gave a small nod. "You work hard. I would be glad to hire you."

Koushi had just finished taking a long drink from his wine filled thermos. "Well, that's settled then! We'll all stay together after we graduate!"

"I'll drink to that," Tooru said happily as he took the wine from Koushi and had a sip of it. He didn't pass it back until he had a few more sips. 

Daichi took the thermos and smelled it, then frowned at Koushi. "Are we going to have to stage an intervention for you? You're drinking a lot these days."

"It’s the weekend, firstly. And secondly, I'm not drinking that much!" Koushi said defensively. Then he turned to Takahiro. "How many glasses have I had today, Makki-makkerson?"

Takahiro pretended to check an imaginary notebook. "Total so far is four, boss."

Koushi nodded as if that proved his point. "Spread out through the whole morning, too. And it's almost noon now."

Daichi gave a sigh. He had likely only been half joking about an intervention. Koushi had been drinking a lot since last summer when Satori had been mugged. Koushi had been there as well, and the experience had left him with a lot of unresolved feelings. And they were feelings he didn’t want to deal with yet according to his excessive drinking. It was something all his friends were worried about to at least some extent, though Takahiro seemed to encourage him more than anything else. 

When the group finished eating lunch, they started doing the full cast reading of the script. Tetsurou had his laptop out on the table so he could take notes for any small changes that might need to be made last minute. He insisted that all actors put in one hundred percent effort and feeling so that he could accurately gauge the overall effect of the story, and he even had them restart the whole thing two different times when they were midway through. He wanted it to be perfect. 

So the read through took more than an hour. And there was a brief moment of awkwardness at the end when Koushi kept whispering loudly that Wakatoshi and Satori should actually do the kiss during the last scene. But other than that, it went smoothly. And Tetsurou was happy with how the whole thing flowed. Kenma also gave his approval, which was more important to Tetsurou than anyone else’s opinion. 

Shouyou ran over to Wakatoshi when everyone started leaving the table and went right into talking as soon as he was within earshot. "You're so amazing at your lines! I'm impressed! No wonder you stole the part from Tooru!" 

Wakatoshi seemed to have been made uncomfortable by the praise. He glanced at Satori, who was still beside him. “Does Tooru really think I stole the part?”

Satori gave an encouraging grin and squeezed Wakatoshi’s shoulder. “Even if he really had thought that at some point, it wouldn’t be true. You earned the part and you’re going to do amazing.”

“He sure will,” Shouyou said happily while nodding in agreement. "I'm going to watch you on opening night!"

Tobio had just walked up to stand next to Shouyou and was brooding silently. He seemed unhappy that his boyfriend was praising his cast member; it was funny, because Tooru would have been annoyed by the same thing. They were really similar, those two. It was a shame that Tooru didn’t give Tobio a chance to be his friend. 

Shouyou practically yelled his next comment. "You and Satori make a cute couple, Wakatoshi!"

At that point, Tobio basically dragged Shouyou away so they could leave.

"I'm glad that Shouyou thinks we're a good pair to play the couple. That seems like high praise," Wakatoshi said; he had misunderstood the implications of Shouyou’s comment. 

Satori chuckled quietly and reached for Wakatoshi’s wrist so he could lead him away. "Yes, a believable couple is important."

The two men walked towards the set together. Satori had planned to paint and Wakatoshi had intended to help Issei with some sanding.

However, Tooru stepped in front of them with a wide smile on his face and his hands on his hips. "You two are coming with me,” he said with an authoritative air. 

Wakatoshi had stopped just in time to avoid walking into Tooru. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you the choreography for the dancing scene. And you two _will_ be practicing the dance as often as you can. I want it to be _beautiful_ ," Tooru said as he did a twirl to show off the graces of a dancer. 

Wakatoshi let out a small, almost worried sounding hum. "I don't dance well."

Tooru sighed and looked at Wakatoshi with a slightly disappointed expression. "That makes you and Satori a matching set, then. Because he doesn't dance well either. But we're going to work hard to change that!"

Without further discussion, Tooru led them to an open area. Then he turned to face Satori and Wakatoshi while giving them an appraising look as he walked in a circle around them.

"You're doing an easy East coast swing routine. Wakatoshi will lead, Satori will follow. I'm going to show you how to do it and explain as I go, then you can try," Tooru said. He then turned towards the stage. "Hajime! Come help me show the dance routine!"

Hajime sighed loudly and stopped what he was doing so that he could walk over to Tooru. "Fine. Just once, though."

Tooru grinned and turned towards the music room while calling out loudly. "Keiji, the dance music please!"

After a few moments, an upbeat song started playing over the speakers in the theatre. 

Hajime moved to stand next to Tooru while face to face. 

Tooru gave instruction that perfectly matched his and Hajime’s movements. 

"Hajime's the leader. He places his hand under my arm, resting on my hip. And mine goes on his shoulder. On the other side, we hold hands.

Hajime starts with his left foot. And I start with my right. We each take a step back; so one foot hops back and then we return it back to where it started. This is a rock step. 

Then we step to one side, moving together. One foot does a step, then your other foot follows so that your feet close together, then another in step that same direction. This is called the triple step.

Now do the same thing but going back the other way, and try to do it at the same pace so you stay together.

It's important for the leader to actually lead. Hajime is excellent at that, as you can see. Wakatoshi, take note. Make sure you extend your arm forward when you do the rock step, you’ll want to be guiding Satori just like Hajime is guiding me. Set the pace and Satori will follow it.

Next is a side lean, so watch carefully. We start with Hajime's arms wrapped around me, then he spins me away. We stand side to side at arms length apart while holding hands. Notice how Hajime spins me back to him while leaning away from me, and we connect at the hips while the palms from our free hands meet in front of our bodies. That keeps me from falling.

You'll both be facing forward, like Hajime and I are, and then see how I'm leaning my whole side against Hajime? It is he who tilts to one side and supports while I stay balanced and keep my hip pressed into the Hajimes hip. I’m letting him support my weight. Then he gives me a bit of a push and spins me away from him, but keeps hold of my hand.

You'll also be doing a leg lift, like this. Watch how Hajime spins me around his body, twirls me with one hand, picks me up from behind my shoulders with one arm, and under one knee with his other arm. And then he dips my head back, like so. Satori, make sure you pop your foot up like I am when you're being lifted and tilted back."

Tooru and Hajime went through the routine in that fashion, with Tooru explaining their movements as they did them. They were a very talented dance pair and they made the moves look easy. Hajime looked like he was having fun despite having acted like he didn’t want to dance.

At the very end, Tooru and Hajime did a rock step, each moving one foot back then hopping it forward again. Then they held each other by the wrist, Hajime with his right arm and Tooru with his left arm. They stepped back, holding an almost handshake position.

Hajime then twisted Tooru around to just behind his body, extended one leg in what looked similar to a lunge, and then dipped Tooru over his leg backwards while catching the back of Tooru's hips on his thigh. While Tooru was dipped back, Hajime cracked a cheeky grin and leaned in to kiss him.

When Hajime finally pulled Tooru back up out of the move, they kissed once more and swayed together for a moment with their eyes closed; it was tender and intimate. Eventually, Hajime pulled away and winked at Tooru, then walked off so he could get back to building the set.

Tooru's cheeks were flushed and he smiled happily when he turned to talk to Satori and Wakatoshi. "That's called a cherry bomb. But the kissing isn't part of it. Unless you want me to add it in?" He winked mischievously at the last bit.

Satori grinned nervously and twisted some of his hair between two fingers. "Let's just work on learning the basics."

Wakatoshi nodded as he furrowed his eyebrows. "That seemed easy when you two did it, but I have many doubts about how well I can do it."

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Tooru replied confidently. "With my teaching and a lot of practice, you're going to do just fine. And I do mean _A LOT_ of practice."

Satori and Wakatoshi glanced at each other with nervous expressions before they attempted to replicate what Hajime and Tooru had done, all while Tooru talked them through it. The result of their efforts left a lot to be desired; they were constantly out of synch and stepped on each other's toes repeatedly.

Tooru sighed and clapped his hands twice. "Let's go through it again!" 

They ended up spending the next couple hours being instructed on dancing. Tooru said they should expect to do the same thing with him every single Saturday night for the next three months that led up to the opening night of the play. And he wouldn’t let Wakatoshi and Satori be done for the day until they promised they would find time to practice during the week.

Overall, Wakatoshi had really enjoyed dancing with Satori even if they were not good at it. He looked forward to working on it more together. And he hoped that Tooru would be satisfied with the final result. It seemed to mean a great deal to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the IwaOi dance scene was understandable! I wasn't sure if it came across how I wanted it to.


	17. Memories And Cans Of Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter and the next one will be very short. Then we have a heavy chapter coming after that.

Hajime, Issei and Daichi had come over to check on Wakatoshi after he and Satori had spent the last couple hours dancing. Tooru had gone to ask Keiji a question about the music and Satori had gone to get drinks for everyone from the vending machine just outside the theatre.

“How's the routine going?” Hajime asked while nodding at Wakatoshi.

Wakatoshi thought about it for a moment before he replied. They were already better than they had been after spending the last few hours practicing. "We're trying our best. You're much more skilled at leading than I am, though.”

Hajime gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you weren’t forced to practice for hours and hours from early childhood on because of a certain brown haired brat."

Daichi chuckled and leaned an arm on Hajime’s shoulder. "In highschool, Tooru made Hajime do dance competitions with him. They actually won more often than not. You should ask Makki to show you some of the high school photo albums he has. There are good pictures of Satori in those, too.”

Issei sighed heavily as if longing for days long past. "Ah, those were good times. We were basically the cheering squad for every competition. Suga came up with some good cheers, remember?”

Daichi blushed lightly at the memories. “Yes, I remember being forced into doing those cheers.”

Issei playfully punched Hajime’s arm. “I almost started to cheer for you and Tooru earlier. You've still got the moves."

Tooru came walking back over just then and wrapped his arms around Hajime's waist from behind. Then he smiled sweetly as he spoke into Hajime's ear. "You do have the moves. Come dance with me some more so I can see them again."

Hajime blushed as he reached to hold Tooru’s hands up against his chest. "No, I'm busy."

Tooru pouted and leaned his chin on Hajime’s shoulder. "Doing what? You guys are just standing around talking."

"An important aspect of construction work," Wakatoshi said in a solemn voice. 

Daichi, Hajime and Issei laughed loudly at the joke. Wakatoshi only grinned, but he was pleased that the others had enjoyed his humor. 

Tooru rolled his eyes then he nodded at Wakatoshi. "You and Satori better keep your promise and do lots of dance practice when you’re together."

Wakatoshi gave a sincere nod as he spoke. "We'll do our best to improve so that we can meet your expectations."

Tooru smiled impishly as he spoke in a silky voice. "We really should toss a kiss in at the end of the routine."

Wakatoshi flushed slightly. Part of him wanted to do that, but another part of him was really worried about complicating the friendship he was building with Satori. He really valued his current relationship with him, and changing things could make it crumble. That seemed to be one of the problems that had happened with him and his ex. Going from friends to something more was where everything went down hill.

"I wouldn't want to make Satori uncomfortable,” he finally said.

Satori happened to be walking over at that moment with his arms full of drinks. "What would make me uncomfortable?"

When Wakatoshi didn't reply immediately, Issei spoke up with a teasing grin. "He doesn't think he should kiss you at the end of your dance routine."

Satori shoved a drink against Issei’s chest as his ears went red. "Stop teasing Wakatoshi. Besides, the kiss at the very end of the play will have more impact because it's the only kiss in the show."

Issei mischievously wiggled his eyebrows as he replied. "And have you guys had a chance to practice that kiss yet?"

Those words made both Wakatoshi and Satori blush. They had not practiced the kiss yet, and it was something that Wakatoshi had somehow come to be actively avoiding due to his worry about moving too fast or complicating things. He cleared his throat as he glanced at Satori, then spoke carefully. "We don't need to practice that as long as we have the lines down."

Satori gave Wakatoshi a look that expressed slight disappointment, but he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's right. We can just do it when we’re up there."

Hajime raised an eyebrow. "Is that a wise choice, though? Tooru did that for the first play he did with a kissing scene. And it came out kind of awkward."

Tooru shoved Hajime out of his arms with more force than was necessary. "It wasn't awkward!! And you didn't even see it! You never watch the kissing scenes because you get all jealous!"

Hajime frowned stubbornly and turned around to furrow his brows at Tooru. "I don't get jealous. And it was Tetsurou who mentioned that it was awkward. I’m just repeating what I heard."

"Tetsurou would never!" Tooru gasped as he looked around for Tetsurou, likely to yell at him. But the man wasn't in sight. So he turned to look at Daichi instead. "Did you think it was awkward?" 

Daichi scratched his arm nervously. "I don't really remember…"

Tooru looked at Issei next. "Well? Was it awkward."

Issei smiled confidently and nodded. "Yep, it was super awkward. At least for the opening night. You got better after that."

With a toss of his hair, Tooru turned to stalk off. He yelled over his shoulder before he was out of earshot. "I’m going to go find Suga and tell him about how you’re all being unbelievably cruel."

Daichi looked around curiously. "Speaking of Suga, where did he get off to?"

Issei started to walk away. "With Makki. Come on, I know where they are."

Daichi and Issei went to follow Tooru out of the room. 

Hajime gave a frustrated groan as he ran a hand over his face. "I should go make sure Tooru's okay. He's really touchy about acting mistakes and I shouldn’t have brought that up. Later, guys.”

Wakatoshi nodded as Hajime started to walk away. "See you later."

Satori sighed heavily. He still had several cans of coffee tucked in his arms. "Guess we have some extra drinks. Let's go see if Koutarou and Keiji want one."

Wakatoshi nodded. "I think they'll appreciate that."

They walked together to the recording studio, where Keiji and Koutarou were working diligently. 

  
  
  
  
  



	18. It's Not Just A Crush, It's A Big Crush

Satori led Wakatoshi to the recording studio and knocked on the door. 

Keiji's voice called out from inside. "Come in."

He opened the door and walked into the room, followed by Wakatoshi. 

Keiji was at the piano and was making notes on staff paper as he composed a song. He seemed very focused at that moment and didn't look up right away. 

Meanwhile, Koutarou was sitting near Keiji on a low chair and was sewing a rip back together in a pair of pants; it looked like the back pocket had gotten pulled off thanks to rough housing, which was actually exactly what had happened. 

Also in the room was Tetsurou, who was relaxing on a lounge chair in just a shirt and boxers while typing on his laptop; it was his pants that Koutarou was sewing. 

And in the chair beside Tetsurou sat Kenma, who had headphones on as he played a game on his phone. 

After a moment, Keiji glanced at Wakatoshi and Satori while giving them a small grin. "Did you guys like the music for your dance?"

Wakatoshi nodded. “It was very nice.”

Satori held a drink towards Keiji. "Want a coffee? I have extras."

With a thankful nod, Keiji took the can of coffee from Satori. Koutarou then looked up from his sewing with a hopeful look. 

Satori chuckled and held a can out towards Koutarou. "I brought one for you, too."

Koutarou beamed with happiness. "Thanks! I've been sewing all day and I'm exhausted. Oh, I need you and Wakatoshi for a fitting of the suits for the first scene. I want to make adjustments before I work on the next set of costumes."

Wakatoshi turned to look at Satori. "Shall I go do that now?"

Satori glanced at Wakatoshi and nodded. "Yeah, you can go first. I'll wait here."

Koutarou jumped up to lead Wakatoshi out of the recording room and towards the wardrobe room. Wakatoshi gave a nod towards Satori before he left the room, and he didn't look as uncomfortable around Koutarou as he had been when they first met. Though he had still seemed slightly weary. 

Then Tetsurou looked up from his laptop as Satori held a can of coffee towards him. He nodded gratefully and took the drink as he spoke. "Wakatoshi seems like he's more comfortable around us all, huh? He was pretty stiff at first, so I'm glad he's settling in."

With a smile, Satori nodded. "Yeah, I think he would call you all his friends now. But I’d be his favorite friend, for sure."

Keiji turned around on the piano bench so he could look at Satori. "That's a good place to start a relationship from."

And then Tetsurou gave a goofy grin. "Yeah, how's that hot pursuit coming along? You gonna make Suga proud?”

Satori rolled his eyes and spoke playfully. "Suga would be proud of me no matter what. He sets a very low bar for his expectations."

After cackling at that, Tetsurou responded with a nod. "Yeah, true. Part of me thinks he's the kind of guy who would just sit back and laugh if we messed something up in the play."

Keiji looked amused. "Only part of you thinks that? I've literally seen him do that exact thing. Remember when there was a wardrobe malfunction mid play? One of the extras had his wig fall off as he was crossing the stage. While the rest of us were freaking out, Suga was laughing so hard that Daichi had to drag him out of the theatre."

Tetsurou chuckled loudly. “Oh, that’s right! I thought Suga finally cracked under the pressure or something based on how long he kept laughing about it. I mean, it was funny. But it wasn’t _that_ funny.”

"I'd forgotten about that," Satori said softly.

That had been just a few months after he had been mugged. Koushi had been there too and carried a lot of guilt over how that night played out. Satori was pretty sure that Koushi blamed himself for the whole thing. But he had never blamed Koushi. He did worry about him, though. He had been different ever since then. Or rather, he had rarely been sober since then.

Satori sighed at the memories that weighed so heavily on him, then walked over to offer Kenma a can of coffee.

Kenma glanced up from his phone as Satori offered him the canned drink. He took it and then slipped his headphones off so he could hear. "How's it going, Satori?" 

"Pretty good. Wakatoshi's doing good with his lines. And I've got mine coming along," Satori said with a warm smile. He was impressed at how seriously Wakatoshi was taking his part; he always put a lot of effort into it. 

Kenma gave a hum of acknowledgement and then tilted his head. "I actually wondered about how it was going between you and him, relationship wise."

Satori scoffed mildly at that. "You're going to be on me about it too? You're all a nosey bunch, aren't you? Don't rush me. These things take time."

Tetsurou grinned as he stood up and grabbed his pants from where Koutarou had dropped them. He snapped off the thread that was attached to the needle and then slipped them on. "It's only 'cause we care so much about your happiness."

Kenma nodded as he gave Satori a serious look. "So do you actually like him now that you’ve spent more time with him? You don't have to pursue him for Suga's or anyone else's sake. We all like a romantic ending, but only if it's what you want."

Satori moved a pillow off a chair so he could sit down, then held the soft cushion to his chest. "Yeah. I really like him."

A sincere smile crossed Kenma's lips. "I'm glad for you, then."

Tetsurou moved to sit back down next to Kenma. "Yeah, we're all glad. Wakatoshi seems like a good guy."

Keiji nodded in agreement. “I have a good feeling about him.”

Just then, Wakatoshi and Koutarou came back into the room. And Wakatoshi didn't look too stressed out after having had to deal with Koutarou’s high energy. 

Koutarou immediately grabbed Satori's wrist and pulled him along. "Your turn!"

Satori laughed as he was pulled towards the door. He glanced at Wakatoshi before he was out of sight. "I’ll be right back!"

Wakatoshi nodded solemnly. "I'll be here waiting."

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna be a little less fun and fluffy, and a little more stressy and depressy.


	19. The Past Comes Calling Again, And This Time It Won't Leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
> ********TRIGGER WARNING*********
> 
> There is a vague reference to past NonCon/rape. No graphic descriptions of incident. But the emotional turmoil of the aftereffects is mentioned.

Wakatoshi sat down in the chair that Satori had just been dragged away from. Then he looked around the room at the three men that he now felt he could call his friends. They all gave him a nod in greeting, and he did the same.

Tetsurou gave Wakatoshi a lazy grin as he leaned his elbows down on his knees. "So, how’ve you been liking the theatre life so far, Wakatoshi?"

"It's more fun than I would have thought," Wakatoshi replied honestly. “I particularly enjoyed getting to work on building the set.” 

The answer seemed to amuse Tetsurou; he chuckled before he replied. "That's good, I’m glad it’s exceeded your expectations! And how are you and Satori getting along?"

Wakatoshi thought for a moment before he answered. "I consider him a good friend."

Tetsurou stood up and stretched his arms over his head playfully. "Just a friend?"

"I suppose I should say that he is a good co-star," Wakatoshi replied somewhat dryly.

He wasn't about to discuss his feelings towards Satori with people that might turn around and tell him about it. While he definitely was getting used to the group of men, he still didn’t know them that well; not enough to discuss a crush on a mutual friend.

Kenma let out a small huff and reached over to push the back of Tetsurou’s leg. "Don't bother him, Tetsu."

"I wasn't trying to bother him!" Tetsurou replied with a small frown, which was soon replaced by a playful grin. "I'll bother you though!" 

Tetsurou leaned forward and peppered Kenma's face with a bunch of kisses. It tickled Kenma and made him giggle; he slid down in his chair while trying to escape the onslaught of affection. 

Keiji smiled and shook his head at Tetsurou's behavior, then cleared his throat to address Wakatoshi. "We're glad that you and Satori are friends now. You seem to make him happy."

Wakatoshi gave a nod and a small hint of a smile. "That's good to hear."

Then there was a knock on the recording studio door even though it was open. And standing in the doorway was someone that Wakatoshi would have absolutely _not_ wanted to see at that moment, or any moment. It was someone who looked rather pleased with himself for finally finding and cornering Wakatoshi.

"Hey, Wakatoshi. Long time no see," Blue Hair said with a triumphant grin as he leaned against the doorframe. 

Wakatoshi’s stomach clenched uncomfortably when he heard Blue Hair use his name. He refused to speak familiarly with the man as if they had ever been close. And he hadn’t had to talk to him in such a long time, so it was hard to force any words out. But he finally managed a simple question. 

"Why are you here?"

Blue Hair glanced around the room with an amused expression as he replied. "When I heard that you were part of the theatre department now, I had to come see for myself. After I spent years trying to get you to be more outgoing, you wait until after you’ve ghosted me to do it?"

Tetsurou and Kenma had both bristled as if instinct told them that Blue Hair wasn’t a good guy. Kenma reached out to put a hand around Tetsurou’s wrist, and then gave it a squeeze in silent communication of his discomfort.

It was Tetsurou who spoke up with a carefully controlled voice. "This a friend of yours, Wakatoshi?"

Wakatoshi set his lips in a hard line. There was no way Blue Hair could ever be his friend again. He spoke through clenched teeth when he replied.

"No."

Blue Hair looked genuinely hurt, but only briefly. He ended up laughing before he spoke. "Can't quite call me that after ignoring me for a year, huh? That's fine then, you're not my friend either. Not after you vanished one day without saying anything. But still, I’ve been worried about you this whole time. Been trying to look for you, but you keep switching jobs. Where are you living these days?"

Wakatoshi felt slightly nauseous and could feel his hands starting to tremble in his lap. Talking to his ex in front of his new friends was a situation that he desperately didn't want to be in. He hoped short answers would make Blue Hair leave faster. 

“None of your business.”

Keiji looked over and could see how uncomfortable Wakatoshi was feeling. He stood up and stepped closer to the doorway where Blue Hair stood. "I think you should leave, sir."

Blue Hair looked Keiji up and down and then gave a sarcastic grin. "You're so polite while you’re being rude. It’s amazing. What, are you fucking my ex or something?"

Tetsurou stepped forward and put an arm around Keiji; he was protective of him in Koutarou's absence. "I’m going to have to agree with my friend, here. You need to leave."

A dark look flashed over Blue Hair’s face. “And if I don’t want to leave? You see, I’ve been trying to find Wakatoshi for a long time. I graduated last year. And that was just a few months after he disappeared all the sudden. Since I don’t have an excuse to be around campus anymore, it’s been a real pain trying to track him down.”

Wakatoshi was sure he must look as upset as he felt at that moment. Because when Keiji glanced at him, he frowned and turned to look at Blue Hair with a sharp glare. 

"If you won't leave, I'll have to escort you out,” Keiji said firmly.

Tetsurou glared from beside Keiji as if he was ready to help physically remove the source of Wakatoshi’s discomfort. And Kenma had stood up at that point while giving Blue Hair a steely look; his expression was similar to a cat watching its prey while waiting for an opportunity to pounce. 

Blue Hair looked at each of the three men in turn. Then he laughed dryly before he turned towards Wakatoshi. "Wow, Wakatoshi. When did you make so many friends? I didn't think you knew how to do that without me."

Satori's voice came from outside the door all the sudden. It was sharper than Wakatoshi had ever heard it before. "Who are you, and why are you talking to him like that?"

Blue Hair turned around and was faced with Satori, who looked upset. Koutarou, who seemed confused, was there as well. They had finished with Satori trying on his suit and had arrived back just in time to overhear Blue Hair’s rude comment.

With a flat smirk, Blue Hair stepped right up to Satori. "Hello, there. I’ve seen your face somewhere before, I think. What's your name?"

Wakatoshi moved before he could process his own thoughts. He pushed Blue Hair away from Satori and pulled his friend into his arms protectively. He was glowering at Blue Hair with furrowed brows as he spoke. "Stay away from him."

Blue Hair brushed the front of his shirt off with an insulted look on his face. "Is this your new boyfriend or something, Wakatoshi? I've never seen you be all protective. Certainly not while we were dating."

Wakatoshi felt Satori stiffen in his arms. It must be a shock to find out that this impolite excuse of a man had once been his boyfriend. Having Satori and the others hear how Blue Hair was talking to him was embarrassing. And it made him want to run away. After having just told Satori about his ex the night before, and having deciding to confront his ex that morning, Wakatoshi had not expected to have to deal with it so soon. But if he had to do it now, he decided he might as well get it over with. He took a deep breath to summon his courage.

"Why would I have been protective over you? I was the one who needed protection. Protection from you. All you ever did was hurt me."

Blue Hair scowled at that and then yelled in a loud, defensive voice. "When did I ever hurt you? I could never tell when you were upset! It's not like you said anything about it, and sometimes you're harder to read than a brick wall! Especially after your dad died! You were like a blank box with nothing going on inside! The only time I saw you express emotions after that was when we would have sex and you'd start crying out of nowhere, which made it super weird for me!"

Wakatoshi felt his stomach knot up and a fresh wave of nausea hit him. He hated that he was having to talk about this in front of a group of people. And his response came out as a weak whisper. "That was because I didn't want to have sex with you."

Blue Hair took a step closer and reached a hand towards Wakatoshi with what seemed to be an attempt at an apologetic expression. "How was I supposed to know that when you got all silent and wouldn’t say anything?"

Before Wakatoshi could register what was happening, Satori burst out of his arms and jumped at his ex. 

Then Satori shoved Blue Hair hard enough for the man to fall backwards, and he was shaking with fury as he glared at him. "You fucking bastard!"

Blue Hair stood up and went to shove Satori, but Koutarou caught him by the arm and swung him around with one swift movement. Blue Hair ended up on the ground a couple feet away from the door of the music room. Tetsurou hurried over and grabbed hold of Blue Hair, taking one of the man’s arms and holding him down firmly. Koutarou moved to join in with restraining the man.

This angered Blue Hair, and he started cussing Tetsurou and Koutarou out with shrill yells.

While still back inside the music room, Kenma went to pull his phone out. “I’m going to call campus security.”

Wakatoshi had watched the scene unfold with disbelief. He had not expected everyone to jump in to defend him, and he was overwhelmed by everything that had just happened. He felt weak in the knees and wanted to go find somewhere to sit down and be alone. But when he looked at Satori, who seemed so deeply upset, he managed to briefly calm himself. He stepped over and wrapped his arms around Satori’s shoulders from behind, both to offer and seek comfort.

Satori was still shaking with emotion as Wakatoshi held him. He leaned forward and kicked at Blue Hair before Wakatoshi got him turned around and pressed their chests together. 

"He's not worth the effort, Satori," Wakatoshi in a quiet whisper. 

Satori pressed his face against the top of Wakatoshi's shoulder; his breathing was ragged. 

Wakatoshi wasn't sure what he should do in this situation. Blue Hair was angrily spewing profanity, and Satori was having a hard time. Not to mention that he felt like he was barely holding himself together. So he glanced at Keiji, who was standing close to him, hoping for some direction. 

Keiji took a deep breath and then looked at Wakatoshi. "Well, that was eventful. We can take care of the rest here, so why don't you and Satori go to your place? It’s a close walk, right?"

Wakatoshi gave a small nod before he turned to lead Satori away by the hand. He was grateful that the others would deal with his ex so he and Satori could leave. He still wanted to be alone, but he was okay with being alone with Satori instead. 

As they left the theatre, Satori drifted closer to him and put an arm around his waist. Wakatoshi thought it was only partially from his fear of the dark; he felt that Satori was also trying to offer him comfort. And he really appreciated it, because he was very fragile at the moment. He thought he might start crying if he didn't keep a careful hold on his emotions. And he hated crying in front of other people; it felt embarrassing to be so vulnerable and open in front of someone else. 

Wakatoshi put an arm over Satori’s shoulders, and they held each other tightly as they walked along towards his apartment. 

They both remained quiet for the entire time; it was odd to not hear Satori’s cheerful voice as they walked along the same path they had come and gone through so many times over the past week. The silence that blanketed over them felt heavy and suffocating. But that was because Wakatoshi felt the weight of his emotions trying to pull him down. He felt like holding onto Satori was the only thing keeping him from sinking into himself.

When they made it to the apartment, they both stepped inside and slipped off their shoes and jackets, leaving it all by the door. 

Then Satori stepped up to Wakatoshi and gave him a tight hug. “I'm so sorry about what you’ve been through. Your ex is garbage... no, worse than that. He’s whatever’s worse than garbage,” he said as he pressed his face into Wakatoshi’s neck. 

Wakatoshi spoke quietly. “Crap is worse than garbage.”

“He's crap, then,” Satori replied just as quietly. Then he pulled his face back and looked at Wakatoshi. “Do you want me to stay tonight, or do you need some space?”

That was a good question. Wakatoshi did kind of want to be alone, though it was mostly because he didn’t want to talk about what had happened to him in the past. It wasn’t something he wanted to share yet, if ever. And he also didn’t want to talk about what had just happened back at the theatre. But he realized that he didn’t want Satori to leave. 

Wakatoshi's voice was soft. “I'd like you to stay. But I don’t want to talk about anything. Would you like to watch a movie?”

Satori stepped out of the hug and gave a reassuring smile. “Yeah. I’m going to text Makki and ask him to drop off some food for us. Is that okay?”

Wakatoshi nodded. “Yes, that's fine.”

After Satori sent a quick text, they ended up settling onto the couch and watching whatever movie they came across first, though neither of them was really watching it. They were not sitting close enough to touch, and Wakatoshi wished that Satori would scoot over to fill the space between them. But then he decided to close the distance himself, so he moved a little nearer to Satori.

Satori glanced at Wakatoshi with a gentle expression, then leaned his head down on his shoulder after closing the rest of the distance between them. 

Wakatoshi let out a quiet sigh as he leaned his cheek onto Satori’s head. Being close to him was helping him feel calm, at least for the moment. Then he thought about going for a run. But for once, he didn’t really feel like it. He would rather stay there on the couch with Satori. There was no one else who would be able to bring him comfort in the same way that Satori could. 

He felt a little guilty for relying so much on Satori as he struggled with all the memories and emotions he was going through; he was sure he must be awful company at the moment. Especially because he had sunk so deep into himself that he was having trouble speaking. However, Satori seemed to understand that Wakatoshi was not in a mental state where he could talk easily. 

So they both stayed silent.

Eventually, Takahiro and Issei dropped off some food; they left it at the door so that they didn’t disrupt anything. When Satori had texted them asking for them to bring dinner, he also mentioned that it had been a bad night. He asked if they would bring food without staying to talk and the two men compiled without question. They were very reliable when they needed to be.

Satori and Wakatoshi ate in silence and finished the movie in silence. Then they sat together on the couch and quietly leaned against each other until they both fell asleep.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my friend Tix for beta reading part of this chapter for me. (And for helping me come up with Blue Hair so that no canon characters had to be crappy)


	20. To Really Be A Friend

When Satori woke up, it was like a reverse of the previous morning. He had slept sitting up and Wakatoshi had ended up in his lap. When he remembered what had led to their silent time together the night before, rage burned through him. 

Satori wanted to punch Blue Hair for hurting Wakatoshi in the way that he had. It was terrible and unforgivable. And suddenly it made way more sense that Wakatoshi would have fled from his ex without saying a word to him. It also was clear why he had avoided trying to confront the man for all this time; Satori thought that he would have done the same thing.

The night before had not been awkward, per say. But the silence that they had shared was not the comfortable type that sometimes happened. It was a heavy quiet that was being held down by the weight of Wakatoshi’s past. That was a feeling that Satori was all too familiar with, because he felt the same weight come over him when people tried to talk about having been mugged. 

There was something about having gone through a traumatic experience that took Satori's words away and strangled him when he tried to talk about it. And he wondered if Wakatoshi felt the same way; if the words to describe his experience burned too much to be spoken out loud. So they remained inside where they'd continue to smolder painfully within his heart.

Satori confidently decided that he needed to put the idea of trying to date Wakatoshi aside for the time being. Right now, he just wanted to be the kind of friend that Wakatoshi needed in his life. So that they could be together in a way that felt safe and secure, without the expectation of physical intimacy. He wondered if Wakatoshi even wanted to date again after having had such a harsh experience. 

Perhaps not, and maybe that was why Wakatoshi was comfortable changing in front of him and spending the night together. If he was just a trusted friend to Wakatoshi, it wouldn’t be right to try to force the relationship into being something more. Satori was fine with being whatever was needed; if that was just a friend, then so be it.

Wakatoshi’s phone alarm started going off, and it roused the man. He sat up and grabbed his phone from where it had been in his pocket all night, then glanced at Satori. The expression that crossed his face was almost embarrassed. And Satori was heartbroken that Wakatoshi’s painful past experience had been forced into the open in front of a group of people that he didn’t even know that well yet. 

It must have felt horrible. 

There was a long moment of silence before Satori cleared his throat. “We don’t have to talk about… anything related to last night. Not ever, if you don’t want to. But I really want you to know that I don’t think any differently of you. I’m glad you’re my friend, and I like you for who you are.”

Wakatoshi blinked quickly as if he were trying not to cry, and then nodded. His voice was a soft whisper when he finally replied. “Thank you. For being here.”

Satori gave an encouraging smile as he reached out to squeeze Wakatoshi’s hand, then moved to get up. “There are leftovers from last night, should we have that for breakfast?”

Wakatoshi cleared his throat as he got up. “That would be good. I need to leave for work in ten minutes.”

“Okay, let’s just eat it cold so we don’t make dishes,” Satori replied as he walked over to the small fridge and pulled out the two boxes of leftovers. He brought them to the coffee table and sat down.

Wakatoshi came over and joined him, and the two ate in silence. It was a less heavy silence than the night before, but still not entirely carefree. There were unspoken thoughts that lingered between them. 

Satori wasn’t sure how touchy he should be towards Wakatoshi; he thought that last night probably triggered memories that made physical closeness less comfortable. He wondered if he should let Wakatoshi be the one to initiate all touching for the time being. 

Because of this, he didn’t lean against Wakatoshi’s side as they ate, even though he wanted to be closer to him at that moment. He wanted to offer comfort through touch because words didn't seem like enough. But touch didn't seem like the right thing, either. So he hoped that just his presence there was in some way comforting for Wakatoshi. 

When they finished eating, Wakatoshi stood up and went to the dresser to pull out his work clothes. Then he glanced at Satori with an almost sheepish expression. “I realized that I made you uncomfortable by changing in front of you the other morning. I'm sorry. I'll change in the bathroom from now on when you're here.”

With that, he went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Satori frowned to himself. He wished he wouldn’t have even said anything about it, because he had not wanted to make Wakatoshi feel bad about it. It had just been surprising. And not in any way that was unpleasant. But maybe it was for the best since seeing Wakatoshi naked would definitely make it harder to think of the man as only a friend. And being a good friend was what Satori intended to do. 

That is, unless Wakatoshi himself indicated otherwise. 

When Wakatoshi was dressed for work, the two men stepped out of the apartment. Satori wanted to hug Wakatoshi, and before he might have just done so; but he felt like he needed to ask first at that moment. He wanted to be respectful of the state of mind Wakatoshi might be in. 

“Is it okay if I hug you?” 

Wakatoshi looked at him and gave a nod. “I would like that.”

They reached out and held each other for a long moment. Satori didn’t let go until Wakatoshi seemed like he wanted him to, and that made the hug stretch out for several minutes. 

When Wakatoshi finally pulled away, he gave Satori a weak smile. “See you later?”

Satori nodded. “I’ll meet you during lunchtime at school tomorrow. Same time and place as usual.”

After that, they went their separate ways. 

Satori ended up waking all the way to Koushi and Daichi’s apartment, which the two men shared with Hajime and Tooru. It was closer than his place. And he wanted to talk to Koushi, who had not been around for last night’s incident with Blue Hair. He wanted to find out if the others who were there had told anyone about it. 

When he got to the apartment building, he climbed the stairs that led to the second floor and pulled his keys out. He had a key to this place, as well as a key to the apartment that Tetsurou and Kenma shared with Koutarou and Keiji. They all had keys to each other’s places, and often came and went as they pleased. 

Once inside, Satori found Tooru at the large kitchen table with his homework spread all over it. It was at least five times the amount of work that Satori usually had to do, which made sense considering how many classes Tooru was taking. 

Tooru was drinking coffee out of a large mug and had his glasses on; he was looking both tired and determined. But he glanced up at Satori when the front door open. “Hey, did you hear what happened last night?”

Satori froze before closing the door. Someone must have told Tooru, and the other’s as well. But he decided not to assume that just yet. “What did you hear?”

After taking off his glasses, Tooru patted the seat beside himself, inviting Satori to sit. “Well, when Hajime and I came back into the theatre after… reconnecting, if you know what I mean… we found Koutarou and Tetsurou holding onto Blue Hair! You remember me telling you about him, right? The guy that followed me into the bathroom after the play last semester? Hajime had followed him while he followed me, and then Hajime ended up beating Blue Hair senseless for being a perv.”

Satori had forgotten that Tooru had been stalked by a man with blue hair. He had also forgotten that Tooru nicknamed the man Blue Hair when telling their friend group about the experience after it had happened. The fact that Blue Hair was Wakatoshi’s ex made it even more unsettling.

“What did Koutarou and Tetsurou say about it?” Satori asked while trying to stay calm and casual. He had no intention of spilling Wakatoshi’s secret, and he hoped that the others had felt the same. 

“Well, I guess Blue Hair just showed up and was being rude to people. Can you imagine? So Kenma had to call campus security. Hajime and I got there right before security did, so I got to see Blue Hair get dragged off. He gave me such a nasty look when he passed by me, and I thought Hajime was going to punch him again,” Tooru said; he was seemingly pleased to be sharing the gossip.

“Did they say anything else about it?” Satori asked quietly. 

Tooru looked disappointed that Satori wasn’t more shocked by his story. “No. I mean, they were kind of being weird now that I think about it. Koutarou started to say something to Hajime, but then Keiji dragged him into the music room and locked the door. Don’t know what that was about. It was like he didn’t want Koutarou to say whatever he was going to say. Weird, right?”

Satori hummed. “Yeah, super weird. I’m glad security got rid of Blue Hair.”

“Oh, me too. That guy gives off major creep vibes. You’re lucky you weren't there when he came around,” Tooru remarked with a sour expression.

Satori nodded and gave a small half hearted smile. “Yeah. Hey, is Koushi awake?”

“Not sure. Go wake him up though, if he isn’t. We have a project to do together for one of our classes,” Tooru replied as he turned back to his homework and put his glasses on.

Satori stood up from the table and walked to Koushi and Daichi’s bedroom. Koushi had a face mask over his eyes and appeared to be sleeping soundly. And Daichi was sleeping deeply on the far side of the bed.

Satori gave Koushi a gentle shake while trying not to disturb Daichi.

Koushi hummed and reached a hand out, then felt all over Satori’s face without taking off his mask. He then gently pinched Satori’s nose and gave it a wiggle. “Is this my cheerful cherry?” He asked in a soft, sleepy voice.

Satori whispered his reply in an anxious tone. “I need to talk to you.”

That immediately made Koushi reach a hand up and pull his mask off so he could look at Satori with concern. “You sound worried. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but can we talk privately?” Satori said while still whispering. 

Koushi nodded and carefully sat up. Then he gently climbed out of bed so as not to disturb Daichi. He took Satori’s hand and walked to the bathroom, pulling Satori along with him. Once they were both inside the bathroom, Koushi closed the door, turned on the sink, then pulled Satori into the shower. And he closed the curtains behind them. 

“Okay, privacy mode activated. What’s wrong?” Koushi asked in a serious voice. 

Satori took a deep breath. “Did you hear anything about last night?”

Koushi nodded. “Yeah, Blue Hair showed up and had to be dragged off campus by security. Tooru told me.”

“Well… that’s Wakatoshi’s ex,” Satori said grimly.

“No way, seriously?!” Koushi looked as surprised as he sounded.

Satori nodded. “I can’t tell you exactly what happened, and I hope that Koutarou keeps his mouth shut about it too. I think the others won’t say anything. But anyway, his ex treated him really, really badly. And there are some things that came to light last night that make me think… that I should focus on just being Wakatoshi’s friend for now. I'm worried he may not even want a romantic relationship after what he went through with his ex.”

Koushi hummed and contemplated silently for a moment. “Okay. I’ll talk to everyone and tell them to stop making dating insinuations, if that makes it easier for you and Wakatoshi. And I won’t push, either. I’ll let you guys do your relationship stuff your way.”

“Thank you. That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” Satori replied quietly. His voice shook slightly as he continued. “He went through something that was even worse than… what happened to me. And I just don’t want to make him feel pressured or uncomfortable, you know?"

Sadness came into Koushi’s eyes from the memories of the night that he and Satori were mugged. He put a hand on Satori’s shoulder and spoke in a gentle voice. “You don’t have to compare what you went through to what he went through. Trauma is trauma. We each deal with it and carry it differently.” 

Satori looked down at his hands, which were fumbling with the hem of his shirt. “I know. I guess I’m just really sad that he went through something that he has to carry with him forever, like I did.”

Koushi pulled Satori into a hug. “You don’t have to carry it alone. I’m here for you. And maybe someday you’ll want to tell Wakatoshi about it.”

Satori pressed his face into Koushi’s neck as a few tears escaped him. 

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and then closed. The curtains of the shower were dramatically pulled back by Tooru, who was pouting. “Why are you having a secret bathroom talk without me?”

Satori sniffled as he looked at Tooru from within Koushi’s arms. 

Tooru’s expression softened and he let out a short hum of understanding. “I see. It’s an _‘I need to cry in the shower but I don’t want to do it alone’_ kind of moment. Well, count me in.” 

With that, Tooru stepped into the shower, closed the curtain, and then stood behind Satori to wrap his arms around him. 

Satori stayed there, sandwiched snuggly between Koushi and Tooru, until Hajime eventually came knocking on the door to tell them to stop wasting water by leaving the sink running. 

  
  
  



	21. Three Months Of Friendship

Over the next three months, Wakatoshi and Satori followed a predictable routine. 

They met up at lunch each school day and went to Wakatoshi’s apartment; they would go over lines together there until their next class started. They also added in dancing practice when they could. And on Saturdays, they worked on the set and ran lines with the other cast members. Satori always ended up going home with Wakatoshi on Saturday nights and leaving early the next morning so that Wakatoshi could go to work. 

Wakatoshi had not seen Blue Hair again since that night at the theatre, and he and satori had not talked about that night. It was an unspoken agreement to leave the topic alone for the time being. But Wakatoshi came to the decision that he would file for a restraining order if he saw Blue Hair again.

Although he thought about filing for one even if he didn't see the man again. He didn’t feel like he could seriously consider moving forward with his and Satori’s relationship until he had his ex completely out of his life, and there was a constant worry that the man might show up at any time without warning. 

Not that Satori had not been giving Wakatoshi any signs of wanting to move into a romantic relationship over the past few months. But they spent a lot of time together and were very close friends, which had been enough for Wakatoshi. Even if he did want more, he was okay with how things were. 

Or that's what he wanted to believe. 

As far as the stage play went, they had still not practiced the kiss for the final scene. The opening night of the play almost felt like a looming deadline for Wakatoshi to confess his feelings for Satori, because he had come to the conclusion that he did not want the pretend kiss to be their first one. 

There had been several times already that Wakatoshi had almost asked Satori out, but he always got too nervous to do it right at the last second. He had been struggling to make sense of why that kept happening. 

It was now a Saturday once again. The last Saturday before the opening night, which would be the next Friday. Wakatoshi had gone to the theatre with Satori to participate in the dress rehearsal. They also endured a final round of Tooru’s dance lessons. They did so until it was late enough for their stomachs to be growling with hunger. 

It was past nine when everyone finally called it a day and started to leave the theatre. 

Wakatoshi turned to Satori to ask a question that didn't even need to be asked, since it's what they always did on Saturday nights. "Would you like to come have dinner at my place? We could order take out and run through lines. I'm slightly nervous about the performance."

Satori smiled and nodded as he started walking towards the door with Wakatoshi. "Yeah, that would be great! And don’t worry, I’m really nervous too. I always have trouble sleeping the week before and during performances. It can be nerve wracking."

"It'll be a long week for us both, then, because I believe I'll have trouble sleeping as well," Wakatoshi replied. He wondered how long he would have to jog each night to settle his nerves before bed.

They left the building together and stepped out into the evening. It was dark out, but the weather was growing more mild now that it was mid May. Since Wakatoshi had found out Satori didn’t like walking in the dark, he had done his best to make sure they didn’t have to walk at night. But sometimes it was unavoidable, like on this occasion. 

As he expected, Wakatoshi noticed that Satori was acting nervous and jumpy once they were walking. 

Whenever they walked at night, Wakatoshi's mind recalled what Koutarou had said so many weeks ago; that Satori had been mugged the previous summer. He wondered if he should ask about it, as he had wondered so many times over the past three months. He felt weird knowing a secret about Satori that hadn't been shared with him by the man himself. But he also didn’t want to force the secret out. He knew how bad that felt.

When he noticed Satori gravitating towards him, he cleared his throat. "Would you like to hold my hand?" 

There was no hesitation before Satori gave his reply. "Yes, thank you."

They intertwined their fingers and walked along the dark street. Satori was very quiet on the walk, which wasn't usual for him. But he was probably just uncomfortable because it was dark out. This was the first time they had walked in the dark for quite a few weeks. 

Wakatoshi glanced at Satori but was unable to see his face clearly in the shadows. "Are you alright?"

After a slight jump, Satori replied with a tight voice. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm okay. Was just thinking about something."

Wakatoshi felt sure it was the mugging that was haunting Satori's mind. And he really wanted to be there for Satori, like Satori had been there for him. But he knew he couldn’t force the issue. Some things were too personal and had to come to light in their own time.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Wakatoshi asked carefully.

There was a brief pause before Satori replied. "Not right now. Sorry for being weird." He seemed to rouse himself after that, perhaps pulling away from the memories that had been playing in his mind. "Hey, you did a good job tonight! We’re going to blow away the audience next week, you and I.”

Wakatoshi smiled. “You did very well, also.”

"Seems like you're really comfortable with everyone now. I'm happy that we're all such good friends," Satori said in a cheerful tone that was back to normal.

Wakatoshi considered Satori's words. Since becoming friends with all of Satori's friends, he suddenly had a lot more people to hang around at once than he had ever had before. That was almost overwhelming sometimes. But he did like Satori’s friends; or rather, he did like the friends they shared.

“I'm glad to have met you and the others,” Wakatoshi said while squeezing Satori’s hand.

Satori squeezed Wakatoshi’s hand in return. "I'm glad to have met you, too."

They reached Wakatoshi's apartment, stepped inside, and slipped off their shoes as they settled in to wait for the pizza delivery to arrive. To pass the time, they started on running lines. They decided to go through one of the lighter scenes towards the beginning of the play. They got through a handful of pages in a short amount of time, and at this point they didn’t have to look at their lines to know what to say.

Satori moved on to his first line on the next page automatically without even glancing at the paper. Instead, he looked at Wakatoshi. "I feel like we really get along well, don't you think?"

Wakatoshi spoke his line without reading it, as well. The way he said it was sincere and heartfelt. "I've never felt so at home with someone before."

They were staring at each other while sitting rather close together on the couch. And in that moment, Wakatoshi wanted to lean in even closer. He wanted to kiss Satori.

But he couldn't do that, because it wasn't in the script. And because they were still just friends; he didn’t want to force Satori into anything. However, none of that changed the fact that he still really wanted to kiss Satori. Something in him felt like the time was finally right for it.

His eyes dropped to Satori's lips; they were delicately pink and slightly parted. He wondered if they were as soft as they looked, and automatically licked his lips while leaning in just a bit further. 

Satori was blushing as if he had realized exactly what Wakatoshi must be thinking about. He didn't move away, but he didn't move closer. He seemed frozen while staring with eyes that were hopeful. Like he was waiting for Wakatoshi to close the gap.

Wakatoshi was now so close to Satori that it would hardly take any movement to connect their lips. His heart was hammering away in his chest; the sound seeming to echo into his ears.

At that moment, Wakatoshi decided he was going to do it. He was going to kiss Satori right then and there. So he leaned in closer until their lips were only slightly separated. It would take almost nothing to close the gap now, and he was hoping that Satori would be the one to finally bring their lips together. 

However, a knock on the door caused Wakatoshi to pull back suddenly; he had forgotten that he ordered a pizza for delivery. He cleared his throat and got up quickly, then walked over to the door without glancing back. And he was mentally scolding himself for almost kissing Satori. It would have been inappropriate to do so, probably. He didn't ask first and they were not even dating. 

Wakatoshi was both frustrated by and grateful for the delivery driver who had come to the door with their food. He paid for the pizza and brought the box over to the coffee table, then went to grab a couple of plates. 

“The pizza smells very good,” Wakatoshi commented. He was feeling slightly awkward about the way the last couple minutes had gone.

Satori seemed to be lost in thought, so it took a moment for a response. Finally, he cleared his throat as he got up and moved to sit on the floor by the coffee table. "Yeah, it smells really yummy. Do you want me to pay you back for half the cost?”

Wakatoshi shook his head. "No need for you to do that."

Satori gave a shy smile as he replied. "Okay. Hey, good job on your line delivery, by the way. We really fell into the moment there, didn't we? I almost thought that... you were going to kiss me."

Wakatoshi blushed. "That wouldn't have been something that friends do, though."

The expression on Satori's face suddenly turned into what Wakatoshi interpreted as surprise. However, it was more accurate to call it disappointment. 

"Oh… well, I'm glad you value our friendship so much," Satori said in a small voice. 

With a nod, Wakatoshi replied. "I do value our friendship very much. You’re my closest friend."

Satori's expression changed into appreciation, though he still seemed upset under the surface. "I'm happy that we're friends. And you know what friends do?"

Wakatoshi tilted his head in question as he took a bite of his dinner.

"They watch movies together!” Satori said with what may well have been forced cheer. 

"I could put something on now while we finish eating," Wakatoshi offered.

Satori nodded in agreement and took a large bite of pizza, which made some sauce get on the corner of his mouth. Before Wakatoshi stood up to turn on the TV, he grabbed a napkin and reached forward to wipe the spot of sauce off of Satori’s mouth. That made Satori blush slightly as he mumbled out his thanks. 

Wakatoshi turned the TV on and handed the remote to Satori. “You can pick what we watch.”

Satori nodded and took the remote, then flipped through the options until he found a movie that looked good. It was one that neither of them had seen before, so they both focused on watching it as they ate.

When the pizza was gone, Wakatoshi paused the movie and looked at Satori. “Do you want hot chocolate?”

Satori gave a genuine smile and nodded. “Sure, I love hot chocolate.”

While Wakatoshi went to heat water, Satori cleaned up the pizza box and set it by the front door so it could be taken out to the dumpster later on. He picked up the plates from the coffee table and brought them over to the small sink, then stood beside Wakatoshi as he rinsed them off. 

“Thanks for getting dinner,” Satori said as he glanced at Wakatoshi and nudged their elbows together.

At that moment, Wakatoshi was focused on pouring cocoa mix into two mugs. But he looked at Satori and smiled once he was done. “It was no problem.”

With Satori so close to him, Wakatoshi was thinking about their almost kiss. He wished he would have just told Satori about his feelings at that time. But it was like the words needed to ask Satori out escaped him when he needed them the most. 

Once the hot chocolate was ready, they both went to sit back at the coffee table and started the movie again. Satori went to take a drink of his hot chocolate, but the mug slipped out of his hand. His drink fell, then spilled down the front of his shirt and onto the carpet. 

Satori let out a squeakfrom surprise and pain. The hot chocolate was near boiling, so he pulled off his shirt to remove the burning feeling from his chest and stomach. Then he took his shirt and started dabbing the floor where the hot chocolate had spilled.

"Shit, sorry. This might stain the carpet," Satori said as he pressed at the wet spot with his wadded up shirt. 

Wakatoshi sat unmoving. He wasn't looking at the spilled hot chocolate. Instead, he was looking at Satori’s stomach. Or more specifically, at a long scar across the side of Satori's stomach. It was as thick as a pencil, slightly jagged, deep purple, and spanned from Satori’s belly button to his hip. 

Satori had just finished wiping the spill as much as he could, so he stood up. "Well, that's going to need a better spot cleaning than I can do."

Satori looked at Wakatoshi and then noticed what he was staring at. So he shifted uncomfortably and moved to hold his wet shirt over his stomach.

Wakatoshi then realized that he was staring, so he cleared his throat and tried to think of what he should say. He wanted to ask how Satori had gotten the scar; he had a pretty good guess, though. He also wanted to ask if he could look closer at the scar, because it was interesting.

“I'm sorry for staring,” Wakatoshi finally said.

Satori blinked at him as if he was trying not to cry. It took a long time for him to speak, and his voice came out barely audible. "Are you... curious about how it happened?"

Wakatoshi nodded and answered carefully. "I am. But you don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to."

With a shaky sigh, Satori walked to the sink so he could twist his shirt to get the moisture out of it. His voice was still very quiet when he spoke. "I do want to tell you. But can I please borrow a shirt first? I'm a little self conscious about people seeing my scar."

Wakatoshi moved to the dresser and pulled out a shirt. He also pulled out some pajama pants and boxers, then held it all towards Satori. "Your pants are quite wet as well. Would you like to shower?"

Satori looked down at himself; his pants were indeed wet with hot chocolate. His voice was still strained when he replied. "I'll be quick."

"Take your time," Wakatoshi said softly. 

Satori nodded as he took the clothes from Wakatoshi and went into the bathroom.

  
  



	22. A Painful Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Trigger warning***
> 
> Description of past violence and mention of bl**d

While in the shower, Satori was trying to calm himself. He had not planned to tell Wakatoshi about his scar that night. But he had in fact decided that he did want to tell Wakatoshi about it; he made that decision a while ago. Though he hadn’t actually planned out when or how he was going to do it. 

Maybe it was better this way, with him just having to get it over with. He felt weird about hiding it from Wakatoshi all this time, so part of him was glad to finally have the opportunity to talk about it. But that didn't make him any less nervous. 

He ended up staying in the shower until the hot water ran out, and had spent a lot of that time leaning his forehead against the shower wall. He finally shut the water off when it was too cold to stay in any longer, then stepped out to dry off. And he avoided looking at himself in the mirror because he didn't want to look at his scar while he was in his current state of mind. 

He was really on edge now that it was finally time to tell Wakatoshi about his experience. He also felt a flurry of emotions from everything that had just happened. 

Wakatoshi had almost kissed him, but then he basically said that doing so would not be good for their friendship. That was a whole rise and fall of hope that would have been a lot to deal with all on it’s own. 

And then there was him so thoughtlessly pulling his shirt off in front of Wakatoshi, which showed off his scar. Now he was about to talk about what had happened to him. That would definitely leave him feeling emotionally drained; his hands were already shaking from the thought of it.

Satori knew he really needed to see a therapist to help him work through the experience. Koushi had started seeing one about six weeks ago and had said it was really helpful for him. He was drinking less as a result. And that was a huge relief for Satori as well as everyone else. 

Satori wanted to work through his trauma as well. But some part of him had wanted to tell Wakatoshi about it before he told some stranger about it. And now he had his opportunity.

Once he was dressed, he stepped out of the bathroom and found that Wakatoshi had cleaned up the stain on the carpet so well that it could barely be seen anymore. And now the man sat waiting for him on the couch. 

He took a deep breath and moved to sit beside Wakatoshi while rubbing his sweaty palms on his borrowed pajama pants as he did so. He found he couldn't look right at Wakatoshi, and he also had a strong urge to hold the man's hand. 

While looking down at his own lap, he slowly held one hand over towards Wakatoshi. 

Without question, Wakatoshi reached over and took Satori’s hand. The man's warm presence helped Satori feel a little more calm, but he still had the tight feeling in his chest and the dryness in his mouth that he always got when thinking too much about how he got the scar. 

He licked his lips and tried to take several deep, slow breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth using the breathing exercises he did to help his anxiety before going on stage. And then he finally began speaking in a very quiet voice, barely more than a whisper. 

"Last summer, I was walking back home from the theatre with Suga. We had just finished our summer play and there were some loose ends to tie up. I offered to help, and it was late when we left. 

We were going to call Daichi for a ride, but it seemed so nice out that we decided a walk would be good. So we left campus around two in the morning, and we started towards Suga's place since it was a little closer than mine."

Satori paused and felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as he remembered that night. The next part was the hardest, and he hadn't actually had to describe it to anyone out loud. He had let Koushi tell everyone what happened back then. His mouth felt even more dry as tears pricked at his eyes; he blinked them away and took a shaky breath. A gentle squeeze on his hand reminded him that Wakatoshi was there as a safe and steady presence. So he held Wakatoshi's hand tighter as he continued to speak in a very soft voice. 

"We were just barely off campus when it happened. A group of guys surrounded us and demanded our money. But we didn't have any on us, and they ended up shoving us around. Suga got pissed and punched one of them. That really set things off. They ended up beating us both up pretty bad. And when I tried to shove someone off of Suga, one of the guys took a knife out. 

That guy….

He….

Well, that’s how I got the scar. 

It was really bad, and there was a lot of blood…."

Satori had to stop for a moment as he got a strong wave of nausea. He thought he could almost taste blood in his mouth at that very moment, and his legs were trembling.

Wakatoshi remained silent and gave Satori's hand another squeeze for reassurance.

Satori closed his eyes and tried to go back through his breathing exercises. After a couple minutes, he continued to speak quietly. 

"Suga thought I was going to die right there on the sidewalk. And so did I. The group of guys freaked out and left. I passed out right after, then woke up in the hospital with this ugly scar to remind me of that night every time I look in the mirror."

Tears were now steadily falling down Satori's cheeks. He used his free hand to brush them away and was feeling both overwhelmed from reliving the memory as well as embarrassed for having had to tell the story. It felt like such a shameful experience to have gone through since he had not been able to defend himself, nor had he been able to defend Koushi.

Wakatoshi squeezed Satori’s hand before speaking gently. "Thank you for telling me. May I ask you something?"

Satori sniffled and nodded without looking at the man beside him.

"Why do you think your scar is ugly?"

A laugh that was nearly a sob was Satori's reaction. "Uh, because it is? I mean, you saw it."

Wakatoshi spoke sincerely. "I did see it. But I didn't think it was ugly. No part of you could ever be ugly."

Satori bit his lip as he finally glanced over at Wakatoshi with watery eyes. The man looked completely genuine. And then Satori started bawling while leaning his face against Wakatoshi's shoulder; it was as if the dam of his emotions had just burst. 

Wakatoshi wrapped his arms around Satori and held him while occasionally running a hand through the back of his hair.

As Satori leaned into Wakatoshi, he continued to sob for a long time. He felt like he was taking all the fear, adrenaline, shame and pain from that awful night and pouring it out of himself. And that Wakatoshi was keeping him from completely breaking apart. 

Or rather, it felt like Wakatoshi was helping him piece himself back together by being there for him as he fell apart. This was the most he had cried at once since he had gotten the scar and he felt like he couldn't stop now that he had started.

Wakatoshi quietly held Satori and made no further comment.

And Wakatoshi’s presence was reassuring for Satori even without words. Once his tears were finally spent, he got up to go blow his nose in the bathroom. When he came back to the couch, he found Wakatoshi with his arms held open and inviting. 

Satori gave a wobbly smile as he sat back beside Wakatoshi and let the man wrap him into a hug. Being in Wakatoshi’s arms was exactly what he had needed at that moment. He let out a long sigh that seemed to release the last of his tension, and then he felt a heavy wave of exhaustion wash over him. 

Wakatoshi brought a hand up to run his fingers through Satori's hair once again.

The feeling was pleasant and made Satori let out a quiet hum while leaning into the touch. He scooted over and then lowered his head down to rest on Wakatoshis lap as the the last of his energy faded away. He closed his eyes and relaxed. 

"Do you want me to keep playing with your hair while you fall asleep?" Wakatoshi asked softly. 

Satori peeked an eye open and gave a weak smile. "Yes, please."

  
  



	23. The Ones We Wish Were Still Here

Wakatoshi had continued to play with Satori's hair until he was sure that the man was fully asleep while laying there peacefully on his lap. That was something his father used to do for him when he was a child, and it had been the first thing to come to mind when he was mentally scrambling for a way to comfort Satori.

He had been horrified and angry when he heard what Satori had been through. And for the first time in his adult life, he actually wanted to purposely injure another person; he felt sure he would beat Satori's attackers into pulp if he knew who they were. 

That impulse was surprising to him; he had not even wanted to hurt his ex, despite everything the man had done to him. He had never been one for violence. But then, he had never felt such a protective urge before. Satori was very dear to him, he realized. So much so that he felt he could even call it love. 

And he didn't want the man he loved to be hurt, emotionally or physically. 

Wakatoshi was sad that Satori thought his scar was ugly. If anything, that purple line was a mark of survival, strength, and perseverance. And more importantly, it was a part of Satori; Wakatoshi believed that every single part of Satori was beautiful. 

After a while, Wakatoshi carefully slipped out from underneath Satori. Then he slid a pillow under the man’s head and put a blanket over him.

Satori stirred slightly, then settled back to sleep with a quivering sigh; it was the kind of sound that a person made after a long cry. Wakatoshi reached to brush his hand through Satori's hair once more before standing up and moving towards the door to slip on his shoes. He needed to go for a run. It would help him sort his thoughts. 

As he jogged along the dark streets, his fists were balled up tight. He kept imagining a group of men hurting Satori and it made him furious. He ran a little faster every time a new image pressed into his mind, and soon he was going full speed down the sidewalk. 

As he ran on, he came to a sudden realization; he absolutely wanted Satori to be more than his friend and he didn’t want to wait anymore for that to happen. But for some reason, it still seemed like it might be too soon. He had been friends with his ex for many years before they started dating. And even then, the relationship had not worked out. Wakatoshi didn't want to lose Satori as a friend because he rushed into dating him. 

But maybe years of friendship was not required for a dating relationship to begin and turn out successful. Wakatoshi wondered how long Keiji and Koutarou, or Hajime and Tooru had been friends before they dated. They seemed like very happy couples. All of his and Satori's friends seemed happy in their relationships. 

He wished his father was still alive. This would have been something they could have talked about. And his father would have known exactly what he should do. Or at the very least, his father would have listened to him talk about everything swirling around in his mind so that he could make sense of it. 

It was that strong desire to see his father that ended up making him run all the way to the other side of town, where there was a graveyard; it was where his father had been laid to rest two years ago.

Wakatoshi found himself entering through the squeaky old gates that led into a wide grassy area. That was where all the headstones were located. It was a well kept graveyard on the inside, and there were small lights in the grass near each headstone. That made it a little bit less unsettling to be there alone at night, though Wakatoshi still felt a chill as he made his way to his father’s grave. And he couldn’t say it was from the weather since the night was not that cold. 

Wakatoshi had actually never been there at night before. He was surprised by how beautiful and still it all was. And most of all, it had such a deep silence. As if even animals didn’t want to disturb the rest of those within the earth there.

He didn’t need to be able to read the headstones to know which grave was his father’s. He had gone there every day when the man first passed away, and he now came once a month. This visit would make it twice for this month, as he had already come two weeks ago.

When he made it to his father’s resting place, he reached a hand out and put his palm against the headstone. Then he ran his fingers over the engraving of his father’s name and closing his eyes as he pictured his father’s face. He could still see the man clearly in his mind. 

Then he spoke in a quiet voice, as though his father was there with him.

“I miss you, dad. And I wish you were here, because I'm not sure what to do. I want to keep Satori by my side, but I'm afraid. I don't want our friendship to end. And I think I'm afraid… of being hurt again when I trust someone. It's not fair to Satori for me to feel that way. He's never done anything to make me doubt him. 

But my ex…

You were right about him, dad. You never said it out loud, but I know you didn’t like it when we started dating. You could probably tell that he wasn't going to treat me right if we made that change to our relationship. You always had a sense for those things. But you wanted to let me make my own choices… and so you didn't plant seeds of doubt in me by speaking your worries. You supported my decision to date him. 

I'm both grateful for that… and resentful. I wish you would have told me your concerns. I wish I hadn't had to go through those years with my ex, thinking that… that I wasn’t good enough…."

Tears had started falling down Wakatoshi’s face, and he continued to speak in a shaky voice.

"I thought something was wrong with me, because he wanted me to be someone that I'm not. You would have been furious if you knew how he treated me. If you knew all the things that he did. And you would have told me to leave sooner. But I was too embarrassed to tell you about any of it for such a long time. And then you went away before I could tell you.”

Wakatoshi broke down sobbing as he leaned his forehead against his father’s headstone. It was cold and hard; a sorry substitute for the warmth and comfort he wished he could have from his father at that moment.

But the crying was cathartic; it was what he had needed. His tears kept on going for what must have been at least twenty minutes. Finally, he took a trembling breath and then continued speaking in a quiet voice, though it was a little more steady than it had been before.

“I really like Satori. I wish you could have met him. You two would have gotten along. He's so kind, and funny. And beautiful. Spending time with him is really easy. I feel safe with him. And I feel like I can be myself with him. He and I both have things that have hurt us in the past. But he was there for me when I needed him. He listened to me when I told him about my ex. And he trusted me enough to tell me about what happened to him. He's a valuable friend to me, but I want more than that. 

Is it selfish of me to want more?

The voice inside me that's been afraid to love again is so quiet now, dad. For the longest time, it was so loud that it hurt. But now I feel like I could make it disappear completely. And Satori’s friendship helped make that happen. But I want his love, too. And I want to give him my love. 

Is it too soon for us to date? Should I wait longer to be sure? 

Only, I don't want to wait. I want him to be mine now. I want to kiss him when he feels like his scar is ugly, again and again, until he can no longer doubt his beauty. And I want to sleep next to him every night so that I can hold him close to me. If you were here, I think you would tell me to follow my heart. And... if I were to follow my heart, it would take me to Satori.

I know what I should do, now. Thank you for listening to me once more, dad.”

After pressing his palm against the headstone one final time, Wakatoshi stood up and brushed away a few more tears. He sniffled a bit as he turned around to walk out of the graveyard. Once he was outside of the gate, he started jogging. 

He ran towards his apartment, where Satori slept. He ran, and ran, until he made it home. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go listen to Mike's Song by Walk Off The Earth 
> 
> And then listen to Home We'll Go by Steve Aoki & Walk Off The Earth


	24. From The Past Comes A Future

Satori woke up on Wakatoshi's couch at around two in the morning. His eyes felt heavy and swollen from his earlier crying and it took him a moment to remember where he was. 

As his sight adjusted to being awake, he could see Wakatoshi's sleeping figure on the futon. He felt his heart stir as he thought back to how supportive he had been. And he craved more of the close contact and gentle touches that he had received from him earlier that night.

With his judgement slightly impaired from being half asleep, he decided to crawl over and cuddle up against Wakatoshi. The man was on his side, so Satori carefully slipped under his arm and pressed his back against Wakatoshi's chest. 

So far, so good. It was warm and comfortable. And Wakatoshi smelled like the body wash that was in the shower; it was a sweet and citrusy scent. That smell had become Satori's favorite over the last few months.

However, in his sleepy state of mind, Satori had forgotten that Wakatoshi was a very light sleeper. After just a few moments of Satori being next to him, he stirred and sat up on one elbow. 

Satori bit the insides of his cheeks gently as he waited to see what Wakatoshi's reaction would be. He hoped it wouldn't be upsetting for him to be waking up with someone next to him. He wished he wouldn't have acted so impulsively.

But Satori's worries were in vain.

Wakatoshi wasn't upset at all. In a sleepy voice, he spoke softly. "Are you alright?"

Satori turned to whisper his response. "Yeah. Sorry for waking you. I just wanted to be closer to you."

Wakatoshi's response was an affectionate hum that rumbled through his chest and vibrated against Satori's back. He pulled Satori closer, then rested the side of his face over Satori's ear. His voice was tender as he quietly spoke. "I like laying next to you."

Satori felt his face warm up as a smile spread across his lips. He didn't give a verbal reply, but he did put one of his hands over one of Wakatoshi's; in response to that, Wakatoshi intertwined their fingers. 

Satori felt completely at ease as he was held by Wakatoshi, and he quickly fell back asleep with a faint smile still on his lips.

\----

When the light of morning woke Satori, he saw that Wakatoshi's head was laid on his chest. One of the man's arms was still around his waist, holding him tightly. Satori smiled as he lifted his head and peeked down to try to see Wakatoshi's expression, which was soft and gentle as he slept. 

After a moment, Satori relaxed his head back down. Then he lazily lifted a hand up so he could brush his fingers through Wakatoshi's hair, just as the man had done for him the night before. 

Wakatoshi was ever the light sleeper, so Satori's touch brought him into consciousness. Satori smiled at Wakatoshi as he lifted his head to peek at him with just one eye open. 

"Morning," Satori said softly; his hand was still resting in Wakatoshi's hair.

Wakatoshi slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. As was usual for him, he had slept in just boxers. When he stretched his arms up over his head and yawned, his back muscles rippled and his biceps flexed. 

Satori eyed Wakatoshi's body with appreciation and slight envy, then shared his thoughts on a whim. "You have a nice body, you know."

With a hum, Wakatoshi laid back down on his side, leaning on his elbow so his head could rest on his hand. He reached his free hand over and gently set it on Satori's stomach just about where the scar was located underneath the fabric of his shirt.

"You have a nice body, as well," Wakatoshi said in a gentle yet confident voice.

Satori wished some of that confidence could seep into him. But his scar had been something that he had felt embarrassed about for so long that a change in how he viewed it was not going to happen overnight. However, it felt good to hear Wakatoshi's words; to know that the man appreciated his body, scar and all. 

Satori sensed a change in Wakatoshi that morning. Or more accurately, in the way he was interacting. Satori couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he was more at ease. Not to mention that he seemed even more comfortable with being physically close to each other than usual.

Satori was staring into Wakatoshi's eyes while searching for an answer to the shift in the man's behavior. The only things he was sure he saw in them was sincerity and kindness. And he thought there was attraction as well, especially since Wakatoshi glanced from his eyes down to his lips a couple times.

Satori's eyes flickered to Wakatoshi's lips a couple different times as well, and he longed to press his own against them. He had been wanting to do that often over the past few months, though he had been waiting for Wakatoshi to make the first move. 

But neither of the two men went to close the space between them. It was as if they were stuck in the moment while appreciating and seeking to better understand each other. And it felt like the most intimate moment Satori had ever experienced.

Suddenly, Wakatoshi cleared his throat. “I have to tell you something.”

Satori felt more nervous than he thought was reasonable when he heard that, and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he had just shown Wakatoshi a very vulnerable part of himself; the part of himself that he was ashamed of and embarrassed by. He bit at his lower lip as he tilted his head and waited for Wakatoshi to speak.

“I would like to date you. That is, if you would like to date me,” Wakatoshi said with a blush as he glanced away awkwardly.

That was not what Satori was expecting to hear at all. His mouth fell open slightly and all he could do was blink is disbelief. He had been wanting to hear those words for so long. And now that he had finally heard them, he could hardly believe it was really happening.

As silence settled in, Wakatoshi started to look nervous. “I'm sorry if hearing that made you uncomfortable,” he said softly.

Satori snapped out of his stupor and reached out to put his hand on Wakatoshi’s cheek. “It didn’t make me uncomfortable. I was just surprised because I thought you might only want to be friends. But my answer is yes, I would like to date you.”

Wakatoshi smiled brightly at that, and then looked back down at Satori’s lips. “May I kiss you?”

Satori nodded.

Wakatoshi leaned in and closed the distance between them. When their lips met, Satori closed his eyes and couldn't keep himself from smiling. Wakatoshi was smiling into the kiss as well. It made the kiss slightly stiff, but it was still satisfying. 

It didn't last for very long, and both men were grinning widely as they pulled away from each other. 

"One more," Satori said as he leaned forward to kiss Wakatoshi again, and this time their lips slid against each other softly. 

It was a kiss that Satori had been wanting for months now, and the long wait had been worth it. As he closed his eyes and gently moved his lips against Wakatoshi's, he let out a content hum. The sound vibrated through both their mouths. 

When they pulled away, Satori could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He felt excitement and joy bubbling up inside himself and it made him want to kiss Wakatoshi again and again. So he did. 

He gave Wakatoshi several short kisses in a row, never lingering for more than a second for each one. Wakatoshi started smiling again, which made Satori smile as well. 

With a satisfied sigh, Satori pushed Wakatoshi down gently and then laid across his chest. “I’m really happy right now.”

“So am I,” Wakatoshi replied softly. He leaned down to kiss Satori's forehead. 

Then Wakatoshi’s phone started ringing. He reached over to grab it and answered it without sitting up.

Meanwhile, Satori stayed snuggled on Wakatoshi's chest with a wide smile on his face. He didn't think he could stop smiling even if he wanted to. 

Wakatoshi was listening to whoever was speaking through the phone, and then finally replied. “Alright. I'll be in after I have a chance to eat breakfast.”

When Wakatoshi ended the call, Satori looked up at the man's face curiously. “Who was it?”

“Work. I had called last night and asked for the day off because I wanted to spend it with you. But Akira called in sick, so I need to cover for him,” Wakatoshi replied, followed by a regretful sigh.

Satori was simultaneously touched and disappointed. “You requested a whole day off from work just for me?”

Wakatoshi nodded before he went to stand up. “Yes. I thought you might need me today after what you told me last night.”

“That’s really thoughtful. But I’m sorry for burdening you with all that,” Satori replied as sat up. He nervously twisted some of his hair between two of his fingers as he thought about having shared those awful memories with Wakatoshi. 

It was with the most tender voice that Wakatoshi replied. "You don't have to apologize. I'm grateful that you told me about what happened to you." 

Wakatoshi had just pulled on pants and was holding his shirt. He was holding his other hand out to Satori; in it, he held pants and a shirt since the clothes Satori had come over in last night were still stained with hot chocolate.

Satori blushed slightly as he took the clothes from Wakatoshi. For the first time since they had met, he changed in front of the man. He took off the pajama pants and put on the other pair of pants. Then he decided that he might as well change his shirt in front of Wakatoshi too, since the man had already seen his scar. He slipped off the shirt that he had slept in and folded it, then set it on the dresser. 

Before Satori could put on the borrowed shirt, Wakatoshi came closer to him and knelt down. "May I touch your scar?"

Satori was very surprised at the request. No one had ever touched it before, and he tried to avoid touching it himself, as well. But he found himself agreeing. "Okay."

Wakatoshi gently ran his fingers down over the scar, barely applying any pressure. Satori felt goosebumps prickle across his skin from the feeling of being touched there, and it wasn't necessarily a good feeling; though, it wasn't unbearably bad either. It was just strange and unfamiliar.

Wakatoshi was looking at Satori's scar closely as he continued to run his fingers over it. The look on his face was both curious and gentle.

Satori realized that he had been holding his breath, so he forced a slow exhale. 

When Wakatoshi suddenly leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his stomach, Satori inhaled sharply. Not from pain or discomfort, but from a wave of emotion. He found himself blinking back tears. But he wasn't sad; he was just overwhelmed with his love for Wakatoshi. 

Wakatoshi stood up and used his thumb to wipe away one of the tears that managed to escape Satori's hold. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

Satori shook his head slightly and stepped forward, then wrapped his arms around Wakatoshi's shoulders. There was no hesitation before Wakatoshi wrapped his arms around Satori's waist to return the embrace. They were both shirtless, so their bare chests were pressed together as they held each other quietly for several minutes. 

It was Satori who finally pulled away. He brushed the back of his hand over his eyes and went to pull on his shirt before glancing at Wakatoshi. "I'm really happy that you’re in my life."

Wakatoshi nodded and gave a soft smile. "I'm grateful for that as well."

Satori stepped close for a quick kiss; he didn't think he would ever get enough of them. Wakatoshi was eager to return it, and they ended up holding each other while softly moving their lips together. Each kiss they shared only seemed to leave Satori wanting more.

When they finally broke apart, Wakatoshi went to make breakfast while Satori went to the bathroom to wrangle his wild hair. They ate a quick breakfast of oatmeal together, then Satori washed the dishes. After that, they got ready to leave. 

When they walked out of the apartment, they would be going in seperate directions. So they said their goodbyes. Satori pulled Wakatoshi into a firm hug, wanting to feel the man's embrace once more before he left. 

Wakatoshi squeezed Satori tightly in return.

Satori was grinning widely. "Can I come back over when you're done with work?"

Wakatoshi nodded as he stepped out of the hug. "Yes, please do."

Satori leaned in for just one more kiss. It was quick, but it still left him feeling tingly and warm all over. That one last kiss somehow turned into five more before they finally separated from each other. When the two men walked away, Wakatoshi towards work and Satori towards his apartment, they both had smiles resting easily on their lips and a spring in their steps. 

The gravity of their pasts would always be a heavy burden; both men had scars, whether physical or emotional, that they would always have to endure. But now they could carry that weight together. 

And the only thing they knew for sure about the future was that they wouldn't be facing it alone; rather, they would be going forward side by side. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go listen to The Best Is Yet To Come by Sheppard because it really pairs well with this chapter.
> 
> (I originally ended the fic here, but added two more chapters. I moved the acknowledgements to the end. There are also bonus scenes as seperate fics in this series, but read them after end). 


	25. The Play: Part 1

The opening night of the stage play had finally arrived. 

It had been very successfully advertised. Satori had put together some visually appealing digital art layouts for the posters and social media content. Koushi and Takahiro had been the ones to put the posters up all over campus and around town. Tickets had already sold out for the entire seven nights of the play. 

The theatre was fully packed. There was a mellow buzz of conversation as everyone waited for the lights to dim, which would indicate it was time to be quiet. 

Keiji was in the recording studio since he would be controlling sound effects and music from there. He also controlled the video cameras and recording equipment that was installed throughout the theater. All performances were recorded so that they could be sold in both physical copies and downloads; the proceeds from sales went back into the theatre department’s budget. 

Tetsurou and Kenma were in the recording studio as well. They had always watched plays from there because Kenma preferred the comfort of the small room over being stuck out in the audience. He didn’t like sitting around a bunch of people he didn’t know. Tetsurou and Keiji both had headphones on so that they could communicate with Koushi as needed. 

Daichi, Hajime, and Issei were out in the audience; they always came and watched the first show. They were all very proud of how the set came out; it turned out to be one of their best looking builds. And they had really enjoyed getting to know Wakatoshi better while working on it with him. At one point, the men had even discussed opening a construction company together after they graduated, rather than just working for Wakatoshi once he started his own company.

Satori and Wakatoshi were in the main dressing room; it was lined with racks of costumes, as well brightly lit mirrors. It also had an attached bathroom for sake of convenience. It was the nicer of the two dressing rooms in the theatre.

At that moment, they were getting last minute hair and makeup adjustments from Koutarou; the man had already finished with the rest of the cast in the other dressing room. Satori’s hair tended to be difficult, so it needed more time and care; not to mention, much more styling gel and hair spray.

As was to be expected, Satori was nervous about the first performance; it was always the hardest one for him when doing a play. Overall, he got jittery before all of his performances; but this time he was feeling especially emotional because it was the opening night of the last stage play that he would be in. He started quietly doing his breathing exercises as soon as Kourtarou finished with his hair and moved away from him. He was well practiced at calming and managing his stage fright.

Wakatoshi was sitting in a chair right beside Satori. He had his eyes closed as Koutarou started applying eyeliner; it would make his eyes stand out more. Wakatoshi had never worn makeup before the dress rehearsal, which had been just a week ago. It was kind of sticky on his face, but he decided that he liked the way it made him feel; somehow, it gave him more confidence. And he really appreciated the way that Satori looked with eyeliner and mascara; it made the man’s reddish brown eyes even more alluring. 

Just then, Tooru came up to them in a hurried walk and fired off some questions; he was dramatically gesturing with his hands as he did so. “Are you two feeling prepared enough? Have you used the restroom? Do you need water? Should we go over the dance once more?” He checked his watch to figure out how much longer they had before the play was set to start. “We have enough time! Let’s go, it’ll only take five minutes.”

Satori gave Tooru a rueful smile. “We’ve got it down, Tooru. We’ve gone through it a hundred times.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to do it _once_ more,” Tooru insisted as he crossed his arms.

Koutarou clicked his tongue. “Wakatoshi isn’t going anywhere yet. I can’t get his eyeliner even, damn it!”

“No one’s going to be able to tell from the audience,” Tooru replied dismissively. 

Koutarou gasped and looked insulted. “I would _never_ send someone out to do something important without getting their makeup just perfect first.”

Tooru let out a sigh. “Fine, have it your way.”

Koutarou gave Tooru a little glare before turning his attention back to Wakatoshi. “So, how are you feeling about your first performance in front of a live audience?”

Wakatoshi hummed as he kept his eyes closed, allowing Koutarou to work at perfecting the eyeliner. He spoke slowly and thoughtfully as he replied. “I'm feeling… more nervous than I thought I would.”

Satori reached over to squeeze Wakatoshi’s hand. “Want to do some breathing exercises with me once Koutarou is done with your makeup?”

“Yes, I would like that,” Wakatoshi replied, giving Satori’s hand a squeeze in return. 

Tooru checked his watch again; he always got restless in the last little while leading up to the start of a play. Then he looked over at Wakatoshi with a serious expression. “Stage fright happens to even the best actors. If you start to feel like you can’t do it, I’m well prepared to step in for you.”

“That's not necessary. I want to do it. I may be nervous, but I'm also looking forward to it,” Wakatoshi replied calmly. He was doing his best to be still so that Koutarou could finish the eyeliner. 

Koushi and Takahiro came into the dressing room just then. 

“You guys ready to break a leg?” Takahiro asked cheerfully.

Wakatoshi frowned and peeked one eye open when he heard that. “I wasn’t told that I should expect to be injured.”

Koushi gave a little grin and wrinkled his nose playfully. “It’s just an expression. It’s a way to wish luck to performers.”

“That's a strange way to wish luck,” Wakatoshi replied in a solemn tone. He flinched a bit as Koutarou dabbed at one of his eyelids.

Tooru cleared his throat and smirked; he knew a lot about theatre history, and he loved to show his knowledge off. He went into a long explanation after clearing his throat. “There’s actually a popular theory about where the phrase comes from. Way back when, if actors weren’t performing, they had to stay behind the ‘leg line,’ which was a que of performers. And they wouldn't get paid during that time. So saying ‘break a leg’ was a way to let them know that you hoped they got the opportunity to perform, and thus get paid.”

Wakatoshi hummed. “I see. You know quite a lot about that.” 

At that moment, Koutarou wiped the eyeliner completely off of one of Wakatoshi’s eyelids, intending to start again. 

Tooru tossed his hair and grinned smugly. “Well, I do have a great memory.”

Takahiro stepped over and patted Tooru’s hair while speaking playfully. “Yes, what a good brain you have there."

Tooru swatted Takahiro’s hand away. “Not the hair, Makki!”

Takahiro gave Tooru’s hair a little ruffle before taking his hand back, earning himself a smack on the arm.

Koushi chuckled at his friends, then nodded at Satori and Wakatoshi with a mischievous grin. “Do you guys feel nervous about the kissing scene?”

“Don’t make them think about that right now! You’ll make them even more worried before they go out on stage!” Tooru said reproachfully as he smacked Takahiro a few more times, just for good measure.

Takahiro stepped out of Tooru’s reach and smirked. “No, let them answer! I’d love to know how they’re feeling about it.”

Neither Wakatoshi nor Satori gave an answer. They didn't want to give away the fact that they had kissed many, many times over the past week. They hadn’t yet told their friend’s that they were dating; they wanted to announce it at the dinner that the cast was going out for after the show. So they had kept it a secret so far. 

“You guys never ended up practicing the kiss for the scene, did you?” Koushi asked while crossing his arms and giving a teasing smile. He had a feeling that they actually had, and wanted to see if they'd admit it.

Both Satori and Wakatoshi blushed. There was a long, silent pause once again because they both refused to answer.

Takahiro chuckled while giving an impish grin. “You know, Satori’s been sleeping over at Wakatoshi’s place all week. He hardly comes home these days. _I don’t know what’s going on in our little cherry boy’s life anymore,"_ he said dramatically while holding the back of his hand to his forehead.

Tooru suddenly leaned close to Satori while examining his face, then hummed and pressed a finger to his chin thoughtfully. “You look like someone who’s hiding something. Your face is all bright, your eyes are sparkling, and you suddenly seem really happy.”

Takahiro leaned close to Satori as well and studied his friend in mock seriousness. “You’re right, Tooru. Look at him, he’s practically glowing!”

“That’s just the power of my makeup skills,” Koutarou said confidently. Then he let out a happy squeal as he moved his hands away from Wakatoshi’s face. “I did it! Perfectly even! Check it out, everyone!”

They all looked at Wakatoshi and gave nods of approval. The eyeliner really did look perfectly even. Koutarou took great pride in his skills and never let anyone leave the makeup chair unsatisfied.

Satori found himself blushing because Wakatoshi looked really cute with eyeliner on. He was too shy to say anything about that in front of his friends, though. He felt like he’d end up blushing even more; so much so that his makeup wouldn’t be able to cover it for him.

Takahiro pulled his phone out. “Get close together, you two. We need a photo of this moment.”

Wakatoshi and Satori turned their chairs around and leaned against each other. Wakatoshi casually slipped an arm over Satori’s shoulders, and Satori placed a hand on Wakatoshi’s knee. They both looked happy.

_‘What a cute couple,’_ thought everyone in the room. 

Takahiro took several photos, then nodded. “You both look fantastic. _Too fantastic_ , actually. Kou, put some mascara on me. I want that long lash look that they’ve got going on.”

“Oh, will you put some on me, too?” Koushi asked with a wink. “I want to get all spruced up!”

At that moment, Tooru was looking at himself in the mirror. He was smiling while doing a few poses and peace signs. He already had full makeup done just in case he might have to go up on stage for Wakatoshi. Plus, he didn’t want to be outdone when it came to looking fancy. 

Historically, this was what usually happened. The friends ended up in some type of makeup during performance weeks. It was practically expected. Not that it was limited to performance weeks; after all, Koutarou liked to practice his makeup ideas on his friends. And that included _all_ of his friends. Especially the ones he lived with, meaning Tetsurou and Kenma. Keiji was also subjected to frequent makeovers, though there were no complaints from him about it. 

Koutarou himself happened to be looking in the mirror while putting some mascara on. He gave himself a nod when he was finished, and then went over to put some of the mascara on Takahiro. “This is waterproof, by the way. I figured at least one of us might cry at some point tonight.”

Tooru tossed his hair and scoffed. “I’m not going to cry.”

“Yeah you will! Though it’s usually Satori who ends up crying,” Takahiro said in a teasing tone as Koutarou applied mascara to his lashes. 

Satori shook his head in denial. “I don’t cry before going on stage anymore!”

“That may be true, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Koutarou replied as he finished putting mascara on Takahiro. He then moved over to put some on Koushi. “And you might cry afterwards. You still do that sometimes.”

“The nerves build up, okay? I have to let it all out somehow,” Satori said defensively. He didn't like that he was the one who cried most frequently in his friend group. Only second to Tooru, that is. 

Wakatoshi reached over to squeeze Satori’s hand while giving a reassuring nod. “It's alright if you need to cry.”

Satori gave Wakatoshi a grateful smile. If they’d have been alone, he’d have kissed the man just then. In fact, it took a lot of restraint to keep himself from doing just that.

Tooru looked at his watch and sighed. “We’ve wasted a bunch of time talking. You two had better go do your breathing exercises now if you don’t want to miss the opportunity for it.”

Wakatoshi and Satori both stood up.

Satori reached back for Wakatoshi’s sleeve and pulled the man along after him, leading them both to a quiet corner. They sat on the floor there and spent several minutes doing some deep, slow breathing together. It helped Satori a lot, and it seemed to be relaxing for Wakatoshi as well.

“Do you feel a little more ready to face the audience now?” Satori asked as he stood up.

Wakatoshi gave a small grin as he looked up at Satori. “I'm as ready as I can be.”

Satori chuckled and twisted some of his hair between two fingers, which would have made Koutarou upset; it displaced some of his carefully styled strands. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I’ll be up there with you for all of the scenes, so just remember you’re not alone on stage.”

“I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else," Wakatoshi said as he stood up. And he really meant it. If Satori hadn't been the lead in the play, he would never have taken the part. 

Since no one was watching, the two men snuck a quick kiss before they went out on stage to do final preparations.

Meanwhile, Tooru was double checking that the background dancers were getting dressed for their upcoming scene; he also planned on making them run back through the choreography. There was always room for improvement, in his opinion.

In the recording studio, Keiji had the music ready to go. He also set the video recording to begin. Behind Keiji, Tetsurou and Kenma were cuddled up together. They watched the live feed that showed up on the screen in the recording studio once the stream started. 

As the lights in the theatre dimmed, the audience knew to be quiet. Issei, Daichi, and Hajime turned their attention to the stage. They waited eagerly for the curtain to rise. 

The cast and crew took their places. The first scene was about to begin.


	26. The Play: Part 2

Finally, the first scene started. 

Wakatoshi was very stiff in his movements at first, and Satori wasn’t projecting his voice as loud as he needed to be. But after the first five minutes, both men got more comfortable on stage. As the first scene ended and the second scene began, they came across as more confident.

Koushi, Takahiro, and Koutarou were watching the play progress from just off stage. The three men were all attentive as they observed the performance; it was going well so far. There had only been minimal mistakes with lines, and the acting was really bringing the characters to life.

The scenes all had a heavy focus on the characters played by Satori and Wakatoshi. However, Tobio was playing Wakatoshi’s brother and was featured a lot in the first few scenes. Tobio was an impressive actor; he and Wakatoshi’s interactions were just as brotherly as anyone could hope for, and then some. 

The chemistry was obvious between Satori and Wakatoshi. The beginning of the play was about a couple who were starting to fall for each other. The lines were very fitting for the two men, probably because the feelings of the characters were so similar to their own.

Everyone in the audience was fully absorbed in the play. 

Issei, Daichi and Hajime were watching the first couple scenes with knowing smiles. Wakatoshi hadn’t directly said anything about falling for Satori, but the three men could tell; they had gotten to know Wakatoshi pretty well over the past few months. Whenever they had all worked on the set together, the three men noticed the way that Wakatoshi’s eyes would search for Satori at frequent intervals. They also noticed the way that the man’s eyes lit up once the redhead was in his sight. 

And the three men also were aware of the subtle change in Wakatoshi and Satori’s interactions over the past week. Especially when they had all gotten together earlier that day. They felt pretty sure that the two men were either dating, or about to be. But they didn’t intend to force the information out. They knew Wakatoshi was a bit private with his feelings.

In the middle of the play, the scene with the dancing arrived. It was set in an upscale nightclub. Satori and Wakatoshi were the only ones with lines; the rest of the actors in the nightclub scene were just dancing in the background. 

Tooru had just finished giving last minute tips to the background dancers. As soon as he could, he went to join Koushi and the others just off stage so he could watch the play from there. When the nightclub scene started, he silently mouthed all of Wakatoshi’s lines; he did have them all memorized since he was the understudy. Once the music came on, his body gently bounced along to the beat as the dancing started. 

Wakatoshi and Satori did their dance routine almost perfectly. There was one part where Satori’s hand almost slipped out of Wakatoshi’s grip during a spin, which could have ended with the redhead falling. But Wakatoshi managed to catch Satori’s hand at the last second. The two men covered it up quickly; it was unlikely that anyone, aside from Tooru, had noticed the slight mistake. 

At the very end of the dance, the two men did a rock step, each moving one foot back then hopping it forward again. Then they held each other by the wrist and stepped back, holding a handshake-like position. Wakatoshi then smoothly twisted Satori around to stand just behind his body. He extended one leg out, dipped Satori over his leg backwards, and caught the back of the man’s hips on his thigh. 

Satori and Wakatoshi both looked like they were having a great time with it.

Tooru silently clapped due to his excitement over how well the two men had pulled off the move. He was starting to tear up, but then Takahiro nudged him and gave him a smug grin. He flipped his hair and ignored him while blinking away the tears of joy that had threatened to expose his true feelings; he was very proud of his friends.

When the dance scene was over, it was time for the intermission. 

Wakatoshi and Satori found a couple chairs in the greenroom backstage. They sat down to rest as they drank some water. The two men were grinning at each other, and both seemed giddy; they were pleased with themselves since the dance had gone better than it ever had in practice.

Koushi came over and gave them each a heavy pat on the back. “Your stage chemistry is amazing! I’m sure the audience thinks you’re really falling in love out there,” he said with a bit of a mischievous smile.

Satori blushed at that. It would be very accurate to say that he and Wakatoshi were actually falling in love. Not that either of them had said it just yet. But Satori felt that he had come to love Wakatoshi over the past few months.

And Wakatoshi felt the same. 

Meanwhile, Koutarou had come into the greenroom. “You both looked awesome out there! I can’t let you rest too long, though. You two need to change into your next costumes. Do you want me to come to the dressing room with you and show you which ones to put on?”

Satori glanced away shyly; he had wanted to change with just Wakatoshi in the room. He was more comfortable with that, and he was really wanting some time with his boyfriend where people couldn’t see them. It was hard to not act like a couple when he and Wakatoshi were both so happy about being together. He almost regretted deciding to wait on announcing their relationship. 

“You don’t have to come. We know which ones are next,” Satori finally said.

Koutarou pouted as he took a small bottle from his pocket and put some styling gel on Satori’s hair, taming a loose strand. “You never let me dress you for plays anymore. I used to have so much fun with it.”

“He has a reason for wanting privacy, Koutarou. You know that,” Koushi said firmly as he crossed his arms. 

Everyone knew that Satori was uncomfortable with showing his scar. In fact, out of them all, only Wakatoshi had actually seen it. But Satori hadn’t told anyone about that; it had been too intimate and personal a moment for him to want to broadcast to his friends. 

“Why does Wakatoshi get to be there while you change?” Koutarou asked while tilting his head curiously. “Aren't you worried he’ll see… _something?_ ”

He was trying to hint at the scar without actually saying anything about it since he didn’t know that Wakatoshi had already seen it. But it was an awkward attempt.

Satori stood and grabbed Wakatoshi’s sleeve, then pulled him along towards the dressing room. “It won’t be an issue. We’ll go do it ourselves, thank you though.”

Koushi gave a smug grin as the two men left the room. He already knew about the fact that the two men were dating; or at least, he felt pretty sure about it. After all, he knew Satori very well. He had picked up on all the subtle interactions that were going on between the two men and had put the pieces together. He was waiting as patiently as he could for Satori to tell him about it.

Once Wakatoshi and Satori were in the dressing room, the two men stripped down to their boxers and started putting on the outfits for the next scene. Satori had changed clothes in front of Wakatoshi quite often since they began dating the previous weekend; he had grown slightly more comfortable with it.

And Wakatoshi tried not to stare at the scar anymore. But whenever he did, his expression was soft and loving. It made Satori feel accepted.

Before Satori could put a shirt on, Wakatoshi reached over and pulled him into his arms. “You look very beautiful,” he whispered against Satori’s ear.

Satori smiled as he squeezed Wakatoshi tightly in his arms, then blushed as he replied. “So do you. The eyeliner looks really pretty on you.”

Wakatoshi grinned at the compliment. “Thank you. I think we're doing well tonight,” he said as he let go of Satori and went to finish dressing. 

Satori nodded and pulled his shirt on. “I think so too. And we’re already halfway done with the first show. Just six more nights of performances to go. You’ll probably feel more and more comfortable in front of the audience as the week goes on. That’s how it goes for me.”

“I'm glad that I was able to take the week off from work, because I think I'll be rather exhausted after the performances,” Wakatoshi replied as he put on the shoes he was supposed to wear.

Satori gave a knowing hum. “I feel the same way. Performances are a lot of fun, but they’re pretty draining. After we celebrate opening night at dinner with everyone, we should head back to your place and go right to sleep. That is, if it’s okay that I stay over again. I know I’ve been at your place every night this past week. If you need space, just let me know.”

Wakatoshi had finished dressing at that point, as had Satori. So he pulled the redhead into his arms again. “I like having you around, and I sleep better when you're with me.”

“Well then, I’ll look forward to sleeping with you tonight,” Satori said with a playful smile as he leaned in to press a kiss to Wakatoshi’s lips. 

The kiss went on, and on; they lost themselves in it. It seemed to happen that way often. They still had all the rush and excitement of being a new couple, after all.

The two men were still making out when Koutarou walked into the dressing room. He squeaked in surprise, then pointed at Satori and Wakatoshi. “Wait, are you guys practicing the kissing scene right now?”

Satori stepped back out of Wakatoshi’s arms while blushing deeply, then cleared his throat. “You could say that, yeah.”

Koutarou nodded cheerfully and seemed to accept that answer. “That’s good. You don’t want it to look awkward or anything. Makki told me to come get you, it’s almost time to get in position for the next scene.”

Satori and Wakatoshi both nodded and followed Koutarou out of the dressing room. 

They kept sneaking smiles at each other as they went along. It had somehow been both stressful and exciting to be caught kissing. Although Satori was a little worried that Koutarou was going to tell everyone about it; he could already picture the smug expressions his friends would wear if they found out that he and Wakatoshi had been kissing in the dressing room.

Meanwhile, in the recording studio, Keiji was fiddling with some controls for the next round of sound effects. He was very happy with how the music and sounds were all flowing together. On the couch behind him, Tetsurou was drinking a canned coffee and leaning an arm over Kenma. The two men were cuddled together and watching the tv that had the play streaming live on it. The stage still had the curtains down for intermission. 

“I'd say this feels like our best production ever,” Tetsurou said, and his voice was full of pride.

“It’s definitely going smoothly, especially for opening night,” Kenma replied casually. But he seemed proud too, in a more subtle way. 

Keiji turned around and gave a small nod. “I agree that it feels like it’s our best one. But for me, I think a lot of that stems from getting to observe Wakatoshi and Satori’s relationship developing over the past three months. But I have this persistent feeling that they’re secretly dating.”

Kenma hummed. “I noticed a change in them this past week. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve finally already acted on their feelings for each other.”

Tetsurou held his can of coffee up high so he could chime in with dramatic flare. “Oh, young love! It’s so beautiful. Kids these days don’t value it enough.”

“Stop talking like you’re an old man,” Kenma replied dryly. “Wakatoshi and Satori are both older than you.”

“Just by a few months, which hardly counts. And you know I’m an old soul,” Tetsurou replied with a goofy grin. “Besides, it’s hard for me to think of Satori as someone’s boyfriend. He’s always been our little cherry blossom.”

Kenma rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure Satori hated being called cherry.”

“He did at first, if I recall,” Keiji remarked. “But I think the nickname grew on him, and I know he doesn’t mind being called that now. I asked him once just to be sure.” 

“You’ve always been considerate, Keiji. That’s a good quality. Some people could stand to learn from you,” Kenma said as he swung a leg over Tetsurou’s lap. 

Tetsurou scoffed as set his coffee can down on a side table. “I _know_ you don’t mean me, because I’m very considerate!”

“You’re considerate sometimes, I guess,” Kenma teased. He loved to mess with his boyfriend. Though maybe a little too much; his smile was gleefully devious.

“If that’s how you want to be, then I guess I’ll stop plugging in your playstation controller for you when you forget to charge it,” Tetsurou playfully threatened. “And I’ll stop cooking breakfast every morning.”

Kenma leaned over to pinch Tetsurou's cheek and wiggled it, smirking as he did so. “You’ll make Koutarou sad if you stop cooking breakfast.”

The four roommates all had specific things they liked to do for pitching in. Tetsurou always made breakfast, Keiji always made dinner, and Koutarou always washed up the dishes. Kenma’s contribution was doing the grocery shopping, which he did through a delivery service; he hated going to the store. 

Koushi’s voice came through the headsets just then, telling everyone to get to their places.

“It’s time to start the next scene,” Keiji said as he turned back to the sound equipment. 

While the play went on, those in the audience were very thoroughly enjoying it. Daichi, Hajime, and Issei watched the show with their full attention; they were feeling proud of their friends. Before they knew it, the last scene had arrived. The three men were on the edge of their seats as they watched it unfold.

The last scene had a long argument in it, right before the kiss. 

Koushi, Tooru, Takahiro and Koutarou were all watching from off stage. They had watery eyes due to the depth of emotions in the scene. The acting from Satori and Wakatoshi was incredibly believable throughout the argument that was written into the script; it seemed like they actually had a fight, like the characters had.

Keiji, Tetsurou, and Kenma were watching from the recording studio; they all had their eyes glued to the screen. Kenma and Tetsurou were holding hands and Keiji was biting his lower lip nervously. 

If one didn’t know any better, they might think that all of Satori’s friends hadn’t already seen the whole play during the dress rehearsal; that’s how much the story and acting had taken them all in.

Satori’s stage presence was strong as he delivered his lines, and his voice was emotion filled. "I knew you could never love me, not really! You've just been pretending this whole time, haven't you? You lied to me… you led me on!" He reached out to shove Wakatoshi’s chest, as he was supposed to do.

Wakatoshi grabbed Satori’s hands and held them securely. His voice was loud and passionate as he responded with his lines; he was fully in character, but his words also rang true for how he felt about Satori. "I never lied to you! I love you more than anything, more than anyone! You really think I could fake a love like we have? This is the real deal, me and you! And I'll never give up on us!"

With that, Wakatoshi pulled Satori against himself and kissed him deeply. 

Satori returned it eagerly, and both men seemed to forget about the world around them. Satori’s hands gripped Wakatoshi’s waist, pulling their bodies against each other. At the same time, one of Wakatoshi’s hands tangled into Satori’s hair. Their lips continued to move together with increasing desperation as they came down from the adrenaline of their pretend fight. 

Koushi whispered to Takahiro from where they still stood offstage. “Yeah, that _totally_ isn’t their first kiss.”

Takahiro’s reply was smug. “No way. That’s not a first kiss. They’ve been practicing in secret, those sneaky lovebirds.”

Koutarou talked quietly to his friends. “I walked in on them practicing the kiss in the dressing room. They were really into it then, too. They must have wanted it to go well.” 

Tooru clicked his tongue and grinned. “I think there’s more to it than them wanting the play to go well. That’s not the kiss of two people who are just pretending to be madly in love. That’s the real thing.”

“It's definitely passionate, huh? The kiss was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips,” Takahiro said with a quiet chuckle. Then he pulled out his phone and took some photos of his two lovestruck friends. 

Tooru whispered to Koushi in a serious tone. “They should’ve already broken the kiss and finished the last few lines. They’re going to make the audience uncomfortable if they keep this up much longer.”

That was likely true. Satori and Wakatoshi were still kissing, and it didn't seem like they could stop. They were caught in the moment; neither of them were even thinking about the fact they were on stage in front of an audience.

“We’ll just end it right here then,” Koushi said in an amused voice. He waved at one of the stagehands, indicating that the curtain needed to go down. 

Once the curtain fell, Satori and Wakatoshi finally broke the kiss. Both men were out of breath. They looked around awkwardly, and were soon confronted with their four friends walking over. 

“Very _convincing_ kiss,” Takahiro said with a smug grin. 

Koushi pretended to pout as he crossed his arms. “I had to cut the last few lines so that you two could have a bit more privacy.”

Satori twisted some of his hair between two fingers as he cleared his throat. “Sorry about that…”

Wakatoshi was blushing and seemed embarrassed as well.

Tooru was looking between Satori and Wakatoshi with narrowed eyes and a teasing smile. “Koutarou tells me that you two practiced the kiss in the dressing room. How many other times have you two practiced for it, hm? It just seemed _so_ well rehearsed.”

Satori bit his lip and looked away. “Just a few times, maybe.”

Koushi seemed very doubtful about that. His eyes were practically laughing from his amusement, though his lips were silent as he gave a mischievous grin. 

Takahiro chimed in with some teasing just then. “Well, you two sure were confident about it. That wasn’t just some innocent little kiss.”

Tooru was giving Wakatoshi a very heavy stare. “Tell me the truth. Are you two dating?”

Wakatoshi shifted uncomfortably; he couldn’t easily lie when asked a direct question like that. So he responded with a simple, “yes.”

Koushi started jumping up and down, then pointed at Satori. “I knew it! I called it! You two are dating, and it’s all thanks to me!”

Takahiro rolled his eyes at Koushi’s reaction. His reply was dripping in sarcasm. “Yep, you’re the best. Good job. These two hardly had anything to do with it, _I’m sure_.”

Wakatoshi gave a small grin as he wrapped his arms around Satori’s waist from behind, now that he was finally able to do so out in the open.

Satori shifted his body so that he could lean against Wakatoshi affectionately. Since the secret was out, he could be as touchy as he wanted. “We had planned to tell everyone at dinner. That’s why we waited, so don’t tell the others yet.”

Koutarou looked up from his phone guiltily. “I _might_ have sent a group text about it already.”

“Oh. Nevermind then,” Satori said with slight disappointment. “Damn, and I thought we did so good at hiding it this whole week.” 

Takahiro was looking at his phone and giggling. “You didn’t do that good of a job. Look at these texts,” he said as he held the screen towards Satori. 

Kenma had texted the group chat with, ‘all of us in the recording studio had already assumed that they were dating.’

Daichi had texted with, ‘me and the guys were just talking about them dating during intermission. We totally called it.’

Koushi laughed pleasantly as he read the messages on his own phone. “I think everyone had already guessed it. You two are bad at secrets.”

“I didn’t know!” Koutarou said with a frown.

Tooru grinned. “So tonight’s dinner will celebrate opening night as well as Satori and Wakatoshi’s relationship status. I’m really happy for you two!”

“Many cheers to the blushing couple,” Takahiro said as aimed his phone to capture the moment with more photos. He had been documenting every little thing that he could about the final play that he and his friends were putting on. 

Meanwhile, the audience was clapping and cheering loudly. So much so that Tooru went to shove everyone, except for Satori and Wakatoshi, off stage.

“Let’s let these two do their curtain call so we can get things shut down for the night. I want to go get food, and I want details about when the dating actually started! Hajime and I had a bet going.”

“Daichi and I had a bet going too,” Koushi said gleefully. 

Takahiro chuckled. “Wow, so did Mattsun and I.”

Satori stuck his tongue out playfully as his friends as they all left the stage. Then he turned and took Wakatoshi’s hand. They faced the audience as the curtain rose once again, then bowed a few times. After a minute, the rest of the cast came out to bow as well. It took quite a while for the audience’s clapping to finally die down. 

Once the curtain was closed, it didn’t take long to get things cleaned up for the night and set up for the next performance. Soon the whole cast and crew were heading to the restaurant that Wakatoshi worked at to celebrate opening night and a new beginning. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Feel free to check out the bonus scenes that are in the "Our Two Hearts In Ashland AU" series this fic is a part of***
> 
> Thanks for reading. This was such a hard project to finish!
> 
> Thank you to Mythical_Beasts and LollyBellaYuki54 for commenting on so many chapters of this fic. I really love seeing chapter by chapter reactions and that helped me keep writing. ^_^
> 
> And thank you so very much to every single person who commented on this fic while I was writing it! The encouragement helped me finish it! :D
> 
> Finally, thank you to Tix for letting me bother him with my thoughts/worries about how this fic was coming along, and for beta reading a few scenes for me. :]
> 
> [You can find me on Tumbler!](http://spacejammie-eimmajecaps.tumblr.com)


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